Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent drew online scorn after he tried dismissing a damning report as 'backroom gossip.'
On Wednesday, Bessent publicly attacked Wall Street Journal reporter Nick Timiraos because of a report about him pulling the Federal Reserve into President Donald Trump's efforts to prop up the Japanese yen. In a post on X, Bessent slammed Timiraos and his reporting on the Trump-appointed Federal Reserve chairman, Kevin Warsh.
"One of the highlights of the Warsh Fed has been watching stenographers posing as journalists, like the WSJ's Nick Timiraos, reduced to reporting Fed backroom gossip," Bessent wrote. "They're incapable of performing real economic or monetary policy analysis without being spoon-fed."
Part of Timiraos' reporting pointed out that Bessent was using the Federal Reserve backstop in a way it "was never designed for" by bankrolling Japan's defense of the yen. As harsh as Bessent's words were for Timiraos, online critics didn't shy away from firing back at Bessent.
"Super weird take, man," wrote professor and economist Justin Wolfers in a post on X. "@NickTimiraos' job is to report on the Fed. He reports on the Fed. Damn well. He has editors who evaluate his work. Not sure what part of free markets and free press requires the Treasury Secretary to second guess it all."
"Has there ever been a trashier Treasury Secretary than Scott Bessent?" posted journalist John Harwood.
"This is degrading to the Treasury Dept and to the Secretary himself," wrote former top Treasury official Mark Sobel. "Such tantrums are unbecoming and gratuitous. These remarks are also unjustified. Treasury Secretaries should best avoid publicly opining on Fed-related matters."
Policy analyst Warren Pies slapped back at comments praising Bessent's attack on Timiraos, writing, "Despite everyone saying 'sick burn bro,' this is a dumb comment," in an X post.
"Reporters have always 'reported' backroom gossip," Pies noted. "Maybe ask yourself why [Kevin Warsh] is incapable of controlling the committee. The answer is a tough pill to swallow."
"So painfully on brand for this admin to be this petty and small," wrote market researcher Rory Johnston.
Bessent notably gave away his plans to buy billions of yen after a Reuters photographer captured a picture of his "To Do" list, which included buying $5-10 billion worth of yen.