The U.S. Treasury Under Bessent: Internal Tensions, Personnel Turmoil, and Unmet Economic Goals

According to media reports, people familiar with the matter said that at a Treasury Department meeting in January, U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent confronted Deputy Treasury Secretary John Hurley, who oversees terrorism and financial intelligence, in person, loudly berating him in front of multiple subordinates and using foul language. Bessent's volume was so loud that employees working nearby could hear him. Sources said that a few weeks later, Bessent discussed with staff the idea of finding Hurley, who had already been confirmed by the Senate, another position outside the Treasury Department. Hurley was later reassigned as U.S. ambassador to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. At the time, the Treasury secretary was facing the most severe challenges of his career, and Hurley's departure became one example in a series of high-level personnel exits at the Treasury Department. People familiar with the matter said Bessent's management style was a trigger, and sometimes even the main reason, for the departures of multiple core officials. According to more than a dozen current and former Treasury officials, since taking office as Treasury secretary in early 2025, Bessent has berated both senior advisers and junior staff, regardless of whether the matter was big or small. But Trump instead relied even more heavily on Bessent, authorizing him to resolve multiple difficult problems, including high borrowing costs, stubborn inflation driven by energy prices, and the rapid accumulation of government debt. At the same time, Bessent was also tasked with using economic means to end the war against Iran through a plan called "Operation Economic Castaway." A senior government official who once worked with Bessent said the burden of the president's entire economic policy rests entirely on the Treasury secretary. The official said: "Scott cannot afford to lose." Bessent once suggested that Trump pursue a "3-3-3" policy: reduce the budget deficit to 3% of gross domestic product by 2028, push gross domestic product growth to 3%, and increase oil production by 3 million barrels per day. But actual economic growth was only about 2%, and since Trump took office, daily oil production has increased by less than 1 million barrels. Data from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget shows that the current budget deficit accounts for more than 6% of gross domestic product, and total U.S. debt recently surpassed $40 trillion.