{"id":2391957,"date":"2025-01-17T21:03:01","date_gmt":"2025-01-18T02:03:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/treasury-nominee-scott-bessent-leaves-dem-senator-stammering-you-gave-it-to-me-in-your-office-and-i-did-read-it\/"},"modified":"2025-01-17T21:04:33","modified_gmt":"2025-01-18T02:04:33","slug":"treasury-nominee-scott-bessent-leaves-dem-senator-stammering-you-gave-it-to-me-in-your-office-and-i-did-read-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/treasury-nominee-scott-bessent-leaves-dem-senator-stammering-you-gave-it-to-me-in-your-office-and-i-did-read-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Treasury Nominee Scott Bessent Leaves Dem Senator Stammering: &#8216;You Gave It to Me in Your Office, And I Did Read It&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">42<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftreasury-nominee-scott-bessent-leaves-dem-senator-stammering-you-gave-it-to-me-in-your-office-and-i-did-read-it%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2391957&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The\u2063 article \u200bcritiques Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse&#8217;s performance during a \u200cSenate confirmation hearing for\u200d Treasury Secretary nominee\u200b Scott Bessent. It argues \u200cthat Whitehouse,\u200b part of \u2063a political \u200cminority, \u200bresorts \u2063to \u200dcondescending remarks and personal attacks in an attempt to undermine\u2062 the nominee, reflecting the desperation of a party\u200d that has <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">lost\u200b notable political ground<\/a>.\u2063 During the hearing, Whitehouse gave\u200c what he thought was a\u200b revealing question, suggesting Bessent read\u2062 an Economist \u2062article. However, Bessent revealed that he had already read it, which caught Whitehouse off guard. The piece suggests that Whitehouse&#8217;s approach is ineffective, \u200cas multiple\u200b Democratic efforts \u200cto sabotage Trump administration nominees have not achieved their goals. With a Republican majority in the Senate,\u2062 the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cuomo-told-aide-he-would-try-to-mount-her-report-claims\/\" title=\"Cuomo Told Aide He Would Try To \u2018Mount\u2019 Her, Report Claims\">article concludes<\/a> that the\u2062 Democrats&#8217; \u2064confrontational strategy, embodied by \u200dWhitehouse, will not hinder Trump&#8217;s agenda or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/marjorie-taylor-greene-calls-likely-second-federal-trump-indictment-election-meddling\/\" title=\"Marjorie Taylor Greene labels potential second Trump indictment as &#039;election meddling&#039;.\">influence future elections<\/a>.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_0)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_1)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>When&nbsp;it comes to Senate bloviating, Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse is among the worst of a bad company.<\/p>\n<p>A political party that has lost its hold on the White House and its Senate majority has been reduced to what amounts to catcalling from the sidelines as the second Trump administration forms, trying to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/chuck-schumer-quietly-working-plan-turn-confirmation-hearings-circus-report\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">sabotage the cabinet-confirmation process<\/a> with personal attacks, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/numerous-former-colleagues-pete-hegseth-rush-set-record-straight-nbcs-cowardly-hit-piece\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media-smear campaigns<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/watch-exhausted-bullying-pam-bondi-adam-schiff-takes-nap-middle-hearing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">belligerence<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>None of those efforts have borne the kind of fruit Democrats would hope, and on Thursday, at a confirmation hearing for Treasury Secretary nominee Scott Bessent, Whitehouse attempted to put sneering condescension into the mix &mdash; and came up empty again.<\/p>\n<p>During the course of questioning Bessent about potential dangers of a bust in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/china-could-potentially-be-a-safe-haven-for-investors-amid-a-global-market-downturn\/\" title=\"China Could Potentially Be a Safe Haven for Investors Amid a Global Market Downturn\">real-estate market<\/a>, like the kind that led to the economic crash of 2008, Whitehouse lectured the nominee to get someone on his &ldquo;team&rdquo; to look at a report from the Senate Budget Committee about home insurance figures around the country.<\/p>\n<p>Then he got more direct.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;And I would actually ask you, personally, to read this Economist magazine article. I don&rsquo;t think it&rsquo;s complicated &hellip;&rdquo; he said, before Bessent interrupted.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Senator Whitehouse, you gave it to me in your office, and I did read it,&rdquo; he said smiling. &ldquo;I will point out to my children behind me, doing your homework&rsquo;s important.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Whitehouse was clearly caught off guard by the response and tried to cover it by being churlish.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Thank you for doing that,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I think you&rsquo;re the first person in the nominations here who&rsquo;s actually done the reading that has been proposed &hellip;&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>At that point, he stammered, obviously floundering, before finding his footing again with an Ernest Hemingway reference and, of course, &ldquo;climate change.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Check out the exchange here:<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-embed\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/vGpaG4e3TOc?si=0dbjhV6na5F6zwO9\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>But the real point had already been made. Whitehouse wasn&rsquo;t out to actually ask a question; he was there to lecture a man who&rsquo;d been nominated by a president-elect Democrats despise.<\/p>\n<p>Whitehouse wasn&rsquo;t interested in making a good faith attempt to find out if the nominee in line to lead the Treasury Department was actually competent to the task.<\/p>\n<p>He wanted to launch a political surprise attack &mdash; but his opponent had come prepared.<\/p>\n<p>This isn&rsquo;t really new ground for Whitehouse.<\/p>\n<p>The Rhode Island senator has already embarrassed himself <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/watch-pam-bondi-turns-tables-dem-senator-pressed-weaponization-doj\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">trying to attack<\/a> Attorney General nominee Pam Bondi &mdash; and getting humiliated.<\/p>\n<p>He&rsquo;s been part of the leftist posse out to lynch Supreme Court <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/democratic-lawmakers-attempt-take-clarence-thomas-gets-slapped-judicial-conference\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Justice Clarence Thomas<\/a>. And naturally, he&rsquo;s been in the pack baying for blood when it comes to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/justice-alito-appeal-heaven-flag-truth-left-doesnt-want-know\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Justice Samuel Alito<\/a>. Both justices are as firmly ensconced on the court as ever and, given that a Republican is in the White House for the next four years, are likely to be succeeded by justices who  their conservative views.<\/p>\n<p>In short, he&rsquo;s been in the thick of the increasingly impotent progressive Democratic agenda &mdash; if not the forefront. And as a senator whose <a href=\"https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/general\/committee_assignments\/assignments.htm#WhitehouseRI\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">committee memberships<\/a> include influential posts on Judiciary and Budget, he&rsquo;s in a powerful position, even for a member of the minority party.<\/p>\n<p>Senate Democrats have made it clear that they&rsquo;re going to bring this brand of &ldquo;Resistance 2025&rdquo; to Trump&rsquo;s nominees. But they&rsquo;re failing to derail them.<\/p>\n<p>They&rsquo;re failing in the case of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/pete-hegseths-composed-confirmation-hearing-performance-convinced-right-people\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pete Hegseth&rsquo;s bid<\/a> to become secretary of Defense.<\/p>\n<p>They&rsquo;re <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/pam-bondi-reminds-adam-schiff-humiliating-past-confirmation-hearing-gets-heated-censured-congress\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">failing with Bondi<\/a> at the Justice Department.<\/p>\n<p>And, as Whitehouse&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/heres-how-congress-is-responding-to-irans-attack-on-israel\/\" title=\"Check Out Congress&#039;s Reaction to Iran&#039;s Assault on Israel\">ill-conceived attack<\/a> on Bessent showed, they&rsquo;re failing there, too.<\/p>\n<p>With Republicans holding a 53-vote majority in the Senate, it will take a lot more than Democrats have been able to put out so far to put a major block in the Trump agenda when it comes to his cabinet.<\/p>\n<p>And bloviating the way Whitehouse was, against a nominee who understands the importance of doing the &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/pam-bondi-fires-back-dem-senators-bullying-routine-not-homework\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">homework<\/a>,&rdquo; isn&rsquo;t going to change the results of the 2024 election or even slow down the Trump momentum.<\/p>\n<p>It&rsquo;s only going to make the bad company Whitehouse keeps look even worse.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<style> \t\t\t \t\t\t.insticator-unit.type-commenting{margin: 0 10px 25px 10px}@media screen and (max-width:1060px){#div-insticator-ad-cmt-1, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-2, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-3, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-4{margin: 0 auto 25px auto !important;}}#div-insticator-ad-cmt-1, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-2, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-3, #div-insticator-ad-cmt-4{height: 280px !important; width: 336px !important} \t\t<\/style>\n<div class=\"insticator-unit type-commenting\">\n<div class=\"insticator-ads\"> \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t<script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\t\t\tif ( ! getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tInsticator.ad.loadAd(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-1\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tInsticator.ad.loadAd(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-2\"); \t\t\t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-1\").remove() \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-2\").remove() \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t<\/script> \t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"insticator-ads additional\"> \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t<script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\t\t\tif ( ! getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tInsticator.ad.loadAd(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-3\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tInsticator.ad.loadAd(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-4\"); \t\t\t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-3\").remove() \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"div-insticator-ad-cmt-4\").remove() \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t<\/script> \t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse is one of the most verbose senators, especially as his party struggles to regain influence after losing the White House and Senate majority. As the second Trump administration takes shape, Democrats resort to disruptive tactics like personal attacks and media campaigns during cabinet confirmations. At a recent hearing for Treasury Secretary nominee Scott Bessent, Whitehouse attempted to lecture him about real estate market risks but was caught off guard when Bessent revealed he had already read the article Whitehouse suggested. This incident highlights that rather than genuinely assessing Bessent&#8217;s qualifications, Whitehouse aimed to politically undermine him\u2014only to be outmatched by a prepared nominee. Despite being in influential committee positions, Senate Democrats are failing in their efforts to obstruct Trump&#8217;s nominees and are unlikely to change the political landscape or slow down Trump&#8217;s agenda with such tactics<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2391958,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Sheldon-Whitehouse-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[6733,4904,48678,48508,3778],"class_list":["post-2391957","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-controversy","tag-nominee","tag-scott-bessent","tag-senate-hearing","tag-treasury"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Sheldon-Whitehouse-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2391957","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2391957"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2391957\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2391961,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2391957\/revisions\/2391961"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2391958"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2391957"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2391957"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2391957"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}