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Treasury Secretary’s Apology Demand to Summers Draws Silence as Texas Flood Rescue Continues

His call for an apology follows Summers’s comparison of the healthcare overhaul’s projected death toll to the recent Central Texas flood fatalities.

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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

  • Scott Bessent publicly demanded that former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers apologize after he equated an estimated 100,000 deaths from the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” to the weekend’s Texas flood casualties.
  • Summers has not responded to Bessent’s demand and no affiliated universities or nonprofits have announced disciplinary reviews or sanctions.
  • Bessent urged Harvard University and other institutions connected to Summers to consider his remarks grounds for dismissal if he refuses to issue a public apology.
  • Summers based his comparison on research from the Yale Budget Lab and University of Pennsylvania projecting up to 100,000 preventable deaths over ten years due to cuts in Medicaid, ACA coverage, and nursing home regulations.
  • Rescue teams continue searching Central Texas after flash floods killed over 80 people, including at least 28 children, and left dozens missing even days after the disaster.