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Hearing Over Immunity
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent faced a heated Senate Finance Committee exchange over President Donald Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over a leaked tax-return scandal from six years ago, as lawmakers pressed him on a now-shelved plan to create a $1.8 billion fund accessible to the president’s allies.
“Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday that he is "performing the duties" of Internal Revenue Service commissioner, even as he insisted he is not the agency's acting commissioner, during a heated Senate exchange over President Donald Trump settlement with the IRS”
Bessent told Senate Finance Chair Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) that the Department of Treasury was “following the direction of the Department of Justice,” and he said, “We intend to comply with that direction. I do not have any additional details into what that means at this time.”
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche had told House lawmakers Tuesday that the government was “not moving forward” with the “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” while Bessent largely deflected bipartisan questioning by deferring to Blanche.
Democrats pressed Bessent on whether other taxpayers whose information was leaked by a former IRS contractor would receive the same treatment, and Bessent declined to answer directly, saying Treasury was represented by the Justice Department and that he was unable to provide additional details because of ongoing litigation.
In the same hearing context, Bessent also addressed his role at the IRS, telling Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) that “That is incorrect,” when asked whether he was the acting IRS commissioner.
Blanche Ends the Fund
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told lawmakers that the government was “not moving forward” with the “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” and the statement put an end to the fund that would have used taxpayer dollars to pay out Trump allies.
Slate described how the agreement was short-lived, noting that even an “obedient GOP could not swallow such an audacious sweetheart deal,” and it quoted Blanche saying, “We are not moving forward with the fund. Period,” during a committee hearing.
Slate also reported that a U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema issued a temporary restraining order banning the fund, with the Justice Department saying it disagreed with the ruling but would honor it at least until June 12.
In parallel, Politico reported that Bessent offered no answers on the status of Trump’s tax audit immunity, including declining to answer questions about an agreement signed by Blanche that the IRS would drop all pending audits of Trump, his family and his business interests.
Democrats argued that oversight does not disappear because of litigation, with Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) saying, “Congress has constitutional oversight functions that do not disappear simply because there is litigation.”
Authority, Testimony, Fallout
Beyond the Senate Finance Committee hearing, Bessent faced additional scrutiny in House testimony, where Rep. Linda Sánchez, D-Calif., pressed him on why he was allowing President Trump and his family “to have complete immunity from being audited?”
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Sánchez’s challenge came as Bessent repeatedly declined to answer questions about the settlement, and in one exchange he responded that “U.S. Treasury and the IRS are represented by the Justice Department and the acting attorney general,” while he pointed lawmakers to the Justice Department pipeline.
Fox News described the clash as Sánchez accused Bessent of overseeing the “most corrupt Treasury Department” in U.S. history, and Bessent replied, “The congresswoman is slanderous,” after she said, “Safe to say that this is probably the most corrupt Treasury Department in our nation's history.”
The dispute also centered on whether the IRS would end any existing tax audits of Trump, his family and their business interests, with Fox News reporting that a settlement reached between the Department of Justice and the Trump family in May forced the IRS to end any existing tax audits.
MS NOW framed the broader fight over testimony and executive power, quoting Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) saying, “I think it’s completely inappropriate to have this game of dodge ’em be pursued without any consequences.”
