Congress ERUPT In Laughter as Trump’s Treasury Sec. Totally DESTROYS Bernie Sanders in Congress.

.

.

CONGRESS ERUPTS IN LAUGHTER: Treasury Sec. Scott Bessant Totally DESTROYS Bernie Sanders with Facts on Taxes and Medicaid

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A highly anticipated Senate hearing quickly devolved into a one-sided political demolition this week as former Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant systematically dismantled Senator Bernie Sanders’s (I-VT) central economic and class warfare arguments with composure, facts, and fiscal data.

The confrontation left Sanders visibly frustrated as his emotional talking points failed to land against Bessant’s measured and data-driven responses. The exchange became a viral moment, widely viewed as a definitive defeat for the socialist critique of the Trump administration’s economic policies.

THE DEMOLITION: BERNE’S TALKING POINTS FAIL

Senator Sanders initiated the attack, attempting to link the presence of “13 billionaires” in the Trump administration to specific pieces of legislation.

1. The Billionaire Tax Break Claim

Sanders repeatedly accused the administration of orchestrating a $\$235$ billion tax break for the “top two-tenths of one percent” by expanding the exemptions in the estate tax, while simultaneously cutting Medicaid.

Sanders’s Accusation: “Why do you think it’s a good idea to cut Medicaid for low-income and working-class people by $\$700$ billion to give $\$235$ billion in tax breaks to the very, very, very richest people in this country, perhaps a few hundred families? Please justify that and tell me about that.”
Bessant’s Rebuttal (Fact Check): Bessant immediately injected two critical, fact-based counterpoints, completely derailing Sanders’s narrative:

Tax Rate Went Up: Bessant stated that after the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) passed, his personal tax rate “went up.” He further noted that the “top 10% paid a bigger share of taxes after TCJA.” This directly contradicted the narrative that the wealthy received blanket tax cuts.
No Democratic Action: Bessant calmly reminded Sanders that when Democrats had full control (the trifecta), they failed to pass any major tax increases or wealth taxes on billionaires. “You had the power and you didn’t do it.” This exposed a core hypocrisy in the Democrats’ platform.

2. Medicaid and “Dying People” Hysteria

Sanders then pivoted to his emotional climax, claiming that cutting Medicaid would result in “over 15 million people lose their health insurance” and “some 50,000 people a year will die unnecessarily.”

Bessant’s Rebuttal (Data Context): Bessant calmly refuted the numbers, stating that Sanders’s figures were “overstated by $5.1$ million.” He corrected the context, pointing out that some of the scheduled coverage loss was due to the “scheduled expiration of Obamacare subsidies” that Democrats failed to extend when they controlled Congress.
Targeting Waste: Bessant then dropped a key point on fiscal responsibility: “There are $1.4$ million illegal aliens on Medicaid, and there are work requirements.” He asserted that the goal of the work requirements was to maintain Medicaid’s sustainability and ensure funds went to legitimate working families and children who need it, not to those who are ineligible.

THE BREAKDOWN: EMOTION VS. LOGIC

The dynamic of the exchange was a classic example of emotion versus logic. Sanders relied on sensational, uncontextualized numbers and emotionally charged hypotheticals (“50,000 people die unnecessarily”) to score political points.

Bessant, meanwhile, maintained a calm, professional demeanor, refusing to be rattled by the theatrics. He consistently countered the socialist talking points with fiscal reality and concrete data, forcing Sanders to interrupt and pivot repeatedly.

The Small Business Myth: Sanders attempted to argue that the tax breaks had “zero to do” with small businesses, claiming the relief was only for the “top $2/10$ of $1\%$.” Bessant countered that the policies would “increase small businesses substantially,” reminding the committee that small businesses were the engine of job creation, not the tax havens Sanders was obsessed with.
The Final Assessment: The general consensus following the hearing was that Bessant won decisively. He exposed the fact that Sanders’s arguments were morally charged but factually brittle, crumbling instantly when confronted with real-world data and context.

The confrontation became a viral symbol of why certain socialist narratives often fail on the national stage: they prioritize generating outrage over presenting honest, sustainable fiscal solutions.

,
play video: