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yesterday

Treasury Secretary Criticized for Pressuring Summers to Apologize

Scott Bessent demanded a public apology from Summers for equating Texas flood deaths with the human toll of President Trump’s budget cuts, provoking allegations of government overreach.

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U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent testifies during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on U.S. President Donald Trump's budget request for the Department of Treasury, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 12, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard
UNITED STATES - JUNE 24: Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent talks with reporters in U.S. Capitol after attending the the Republican Senate luncheon on Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Overview

  • Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent used his official X account to demand a public apology from former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers or call for his dismissal at affiliated institutions.
  • Summers told ABC News that Trump’s ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill’ could cause 100,000 preventable deaths over ten years—equivalent to roughly 2,000 days of fatalities like the recent Texas flood.
  • Economists, civil rights advocates and former officials condemned Bessent’s demand as an authoritarian misuse of power to silence academic criticism.
  • A Yale and University of Pennsylvania study cited by Summers estimates about 51,000 annual deaths from cuts to Medicaid, Affordable Care Act coverage and nursing-home staffing regulations.
  • Texas authorities led by Gov. Greg Abbott continue search-and-rescue operations after flash floods killed at least 80 people, including 28 children, with multiple individuals still missing.