Bessent Says Administration Will ‘Own the Economy’ as Gas Nears $4.30 a Gallon
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told NBC's Meet the Press that the administration will 'own the economy,' blamed high fuel prices on an 'energy supply side shock' tied to the Iran conflict, and insisted no Russia sanctions were lifted.
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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday that the administration stands behind its economic record, even as prices at the pump keep climbing.
“We will own the economy,” Bessent told host Kristen Welker. “So far this year, we’ve got a million private-sector jobs. We’ve never had this many people working in the U.S. The net worth of American households are the highest that it’s ever been.”
Bessent described the current price pressure as an “energy supply side shock.” Brent crude sits near $110 a barrel, according to his account, with gasoline at nearly $4.30 a gallon, up from just over $3 a gallon a year ago.
“We will get to the other side of the Iran conflict, and I believe that the energy markets are going to be better supplied than they were,” Bessent said.
Sanctions exchange
Welker also pressed Bessent on President Donald Trump’s decision Friday to waive the Graham Act sanctions on Russia, a package passed with bipartisan support in Congress. Bessent pushed back on the characterization.
“No sanctions were lifted on Friday,” Bessent said. “No sanctions were lifted.”
He said the only change was the lifting of the embargo on Russian diesel, and that a 60-day review period is now in effect. He also pointed to Europe, saying some European countries are still buying Russian energy.
Bessent also dismissed criticism from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who appeared on the same program earlier and accused the United States of limiting his country’s access to intelligence and to Starlink satellite service. Bessent called the charge reckless and said Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio had denied it.
The interview landed the same day a Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll put Trump’s approval at 33 percent, a new low, with about three in four Americans disapproving of his handling of the cost of living. The poll also found Democrats trusted more than Republicans on the economy for the first time in more than a decade.
Reporting based on coverage by Barron’s, the Washington Examiner, and the Daily Caller.
