A top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee slammed Scott Bessent, who has been confirmed to become the nation's next Treasury secretary.
The Senate voted 68-29 on Monday to confirm Bessent to head the Treasury Department.
Bessent, 62, founded the hedge fund Key Square Capital Management and previously served as chief investment officer at Soros Capital Management.
Bessent is poised to play a major role in helping President Donald Trump extend the 2017 tax cuts and serve as a voice on whether the United States will follow through on threats to raise tariffs, Axios reported.
Just before his confirmation, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) sparred with Bessent, according to reports. He said Bessent took advantage of tax loopholes to avoid paying $900,000 and would do the same for others on Wall Street.
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"Mr. Bessent has avoided paying almost $1 million in the three years of tax returns," Wyden said, according to Fox News reporter Chad Pergram. "Now, the Treasury Department says what Mr. Bessent is doing is a violation of the law. The IRS has gone to court twice to close this loophole. It won both times. We raised this with Mr. Bessent and urged him to pay what he owes. He said no, he's just going to wait out the appeals process. So if Mr. Bessent is confirmed the day that he's sworn in, the Treasury secretary will be in violation of Treasury policy. Let me repeat that, Madame President. If Mr. Bessent is confirmed the day that he is sworn in, we will have a Treasury secretary who is in violation of Treasury policy. It is an absurd double standard to maintain for the benefit of one individual with immense power.