Rep. Ritchie Torres Presses Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Trump Tariffs, Fed Independence, and Job Losses

Congressman Ritchie Torres sharply questioned Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent during a House Financial Services Committee hearing today, pressing the Secretary on the economic fallout of Trump’s tariffs, the loss of American manufacturing jobs, and the threat posed to the independence of the Federal Reserve by the President.

During the hearing, Secretary Bessent shockingly declined to state whether President Trump has the constitutional authority to remove a Federal Reserve Board member or chair solely over a policy disagreement, telling Rep. Torres, “I’m not a lawyer, and I don’t have an opinion,” when asked directly.

Rep. Torres also confronted the Secretary over the administration’s tariff policy and its impact on American workers. When asked how many manufacturing jobs have been lost since April 2025, Secretary Bessent acknowledged losses of approximately 67,000 jobs. Rep. Torres corrected the record, noting the figure is closer to 70,000.

The exchange continued with Rep. Torres questioning the logic of imposing tariffs on goods that cannot be produced domestically at scale, including basic consumer staples. When Rep. Torres asked whether the administration regretted imposing tariffs on such goods, Secretary Bessent defended the policy as a negotiating tool, prompting Rep. Torres to respond that tariffs on items like bananas do not constitute meaningful leverage and instead raise costs for working families.

• See from Bloomberg — Bessent Declines to Draw Line on Removing Fed Member for Policy: “Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent declined to express a view on whether President Donald Trump has the authority to fire a member of the Federal Reserve board over a policy disagreement. “I’m not a lawyer, and I don’t have an opinion,” Bessent said when asked Wednesday whether the president has the constitutional authority to remove Fed governors solely because of a policy disagreement. He was queried on the issue by Democratic Representative Ritchie Torres of New York during a hearing in the House Financial Services Committee.”