{"id":2564896,"date":"2026-02-05T18:43:02","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T23:43:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/watch-elizabeth-warren-seethes-as-scott-bessent-turns-the-tables-and-reminds-her-she-was-front-and-center-in-affordability-crisis-7\/"},"modified":"2026-02-05T18:46:28","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T23:46:28","slug":"watch-elizabeth-warren-seethes-as-scott-bessent-turns-the-tables-and-reminds-her-she-was-front-and-center-in-affordability-crisis-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/watch-elizabeth-warren-seethes-as-scott-bessent-turns-the-tables-and-reminds-her-she-was-front-and-center-in-affordability-crisis-7\/","title":{"rendered":"Watch: Elizabeth Warren Seethes as Scott Bessent Turns the Tables and Reminds Her She Was &#8216;Front and Center&#8217; in Affordability Crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><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%2Fwatch-elizabeth-warren-seethes-as-scott-bessent-turns-the-tables-and-reminds-her-she-was-front-and-center-in-affordability-crisis-7%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=2564896&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>A blend of a brief biology aside and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/stephen-colbert-cancels-late-night-show-over-health-scare\/\" title=\"Stephen Colbert cancels show due to health scare\">sharp political commentary<\/a>, the piece opens with a fact about the mayfly\u2019s ultra-short life and quickly pivots to a satirical take on a Treasury hearing about inflation. It portrays Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent\u2019s exchanges with Democrats\u2014frist with Senator Elizabeth warren and then with Representative Maxine Waters\u2014as theatrical,with Bessent repeatedly pushing back on their framing and arguing that blaming the current woes on Trump is misplaced while noting the Biden-Warren era also diminished Americans\u2019 buying power. The narrative highlights warren\u2019s focus on Trump\u2019s rhetoric about the affordability crisis and Bessent\u2019s retorts that critics misrepresent Trump while emphasizing responsibility for the ongoing economic pressures. It characters the hearings as partisan theater and even suggests they\u2019re more aggravating than substantive, advocating that such hearings (or Congress itself) should be reconsidered.Interwoven with the text are multimedia and page elements\u2014ads, scripts, a YouTube video embed, and a <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >correction-form section\u2014underscoring<\/a> a media-heavy presentation.  <\/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><\/p>\n<p>The adult mayfly, an aquatic insect, often lives for less than 24 hours. That qualifies as the shortest lifespan in the animal kingdom.<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, the mayfly&rsquo;s existence would seem the height of pointlessness if not for the phenomenon of the congressional hearing.<\/p>\n<p>On Thursday before the Senate Banking Committee, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent endured his second consecutive day of mindless questioning from legislators, in this case led by Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who tried &mdash; in her usual charming way &mdash; to pin responsibility for inflation on President Donald Trump&rsquo;s administration, only to have Bessent interrupt and remind her that she stood &ldquo;front and center&rdquo; during the runaway inflation that occurred under former President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/leavitt-schools-liberal-media-trumps-successfully-cleaning-bidens-inflation-mess\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Joe Biden<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In other words, if Bessent had to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/watch-elizabeth-warren-seethes-as-scott-bessent-turns-the-tables-and-reminds-her-she-was-front-and-center-in-affordability-crisis\/\" title=\"Watch: ... Seethes as Scott Bessent Turns the Tables and Reminds Her She Was &#039;Front and Center&#039; in Affordability Crisis\">waste time talking<\/a> to grandstanding Democrats, at least he made it entertaining again.<\/p>\n<p>On Wednesday, the Treasury Secretary took a similar approach with Democratic Rep. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/watch-scott-bessent-perfect-response-maxine-waters-says-shut-hearing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Maxine Waters<\/a> of California. By the end of that exchange, Bessent had the flustered Waters begging the committee chair to &ldquo;shut him up.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=s28Az7AY\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #stnvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#stnvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>Imagine having to suffer through Waters in the House one day and Warren in the Senate the next. Bessent deserves a vacation after this week.<\/p>\n<p>In any event, the Massachusetts senator opened the questioning by fixating on Democrats&rsquo; perennial, tiresome bugbear: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/pure-gold-watch-trumps-response-asked-office-jan-21-2029-wouldnt-terrible\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Specifically, she referred to comments in which the president, she said, characterized the affordability crisis as a &ldquo;hoax,&rdquo; a &ldquo;scam,&rdquo; and a &ldquo;con job,&rdquo; and she asked if the economic numbers supported that characterization.<\/p>\n<p>Here, of course, we have a classic Democrat tactic: misrepresenting Trump&rsquo;s words and then holding others accountable for them.<\/p>\n<p>Bessent refused to bite.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Senator,&rdquo; he replied, &ldquo;it may be a bit nuanced for you, but what President Trump is referring to is the media saying that the affordability crisis was generated by this administration, when it was you and President Biden who destroyed the buying power of the American people.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;So there is an affordability crisis,&rdquo; Bessent added, &ldquo;and you were front and center in it.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Warren grew agitated.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;So let me make sure that I understand,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;Donald Trump is not saying that affordability &mdash; what&rsquo;s happening to families right now &mdash; is a hoax?&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Having already answered that question, Bessent decided to needle the senator once more.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;He is saying,&rdquo; the Treasury Secretary replied, &ldquo;that trying to lay the blame at this administration, rather than the Biden-Warren economy, is a hoax.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Readers may view the exchange in the YouTube video below.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/F-VfV1MNriY?si=IDiEDA2PYMIMpHJc\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>To veteran observers of these asinine hearings, it goes without saying that Warren had no interest in Bessent&rsquo;s substantive remarks.<\/p>\n<p>After asking the Treasury Secretary about the affordability &ldquo;hoax,&rdquo; the senator then subjected him to a two-minute harangue on grocery prices. At no point did she ask Bessent for anything besides &ldquo;yes&rdquo; or &ldquo;no&rdquo; answers.<\/p>\n<p>If legislators insist on wasting everyone&rsquo;s time with their partisan inanities, then who can blame <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/watch-perfect-troll-vs-lamest-response-scott-bessent-nails-dem-heated-exchange-dem-gives-literally-lamest-response-possible\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Bessent<\/a> for punching back?<\/p>\n<p>The time has come to get rid of these congressional hearings or, better yet, the Congress members themselves.<\/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<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An extremely short life seems almost the point of a mayfly, but its notoriety comes from something bigger: the spectacle of Congress. The piece compares the fleeting life of the mayfly to the brief, theater-like moments of congressional hearings. At a Senate Banking Committee hearing, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent faced a second day of what the author calls mindless questioning from lawmakers, led by Senator Elizabeth Warren. Warren tried to attribute inflation to the Trump administration, but Bessent interrupted to remind her that she was central during the inflation spike under Biden, implying that if there must be grandstanding, at least it should be entertaining. Earlier, he had a similar exchange with Representative Maxine Waters, ending with Waters pleading for the chair to \u201cshut him up.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The article goes on to describe Warren\u2019s persistent focus on Trump\u2019s remarks about the affordability crisis, labeling them a hoax, scam, or con job, and asking whether the numbers support that claim. Bessent counters that Trump was accusing the media of blaming the crisis on the administration, while insisting that it was the Biden-Warren economy that eroded Americans\u2019 buying power and that the crisis exists and Warren has been central to it. The piece notes Warren\u2019s two-minute tirade about groceries and her reluctance to accept anything but a yes\/no answer. It concludes by arguing that if lawmakers insist on wasting time with partisan theatrics, then the blame lies as much with the conduct of the hearings as with the witnesses, and suggests abolishing congressional hearings or even Congress itself<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2564897,"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\/2026\/02\/Warren-vs-Bessent.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[72984,72975,72985,71455,72976],"class_list":["post-2564896","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-affordability-crisis-2","tag-elizabeth-warren-2","tag-front-and-center","tag-political-debate-2","tag-scott-bessent-2"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Warren-vs-Bessent.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2564896","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=2564896"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2564896\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2564904,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2564896\/revisions\/2564904"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2564897"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2564896"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2564896"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2564896"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}