Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent repeatedly refused to acknowledge Donald Trump’s blatantly corrupt stock trading under fierce questioning by Senator Elizabeth Warren on Wednesday. During a Senate Finance Committee hearing, Warren hammered Bessent for pushing to end congressional stock trading, while Trump made more than 3,400 stock trades worth more than a quarter of a billion dollars in the first three months of 2026 alone.“So, Secretary Bessent, you and I agree that it is a conflict of interest for members of Congress to trade stocks. Do you also agree that it’s a conflict of interest for President Trump to trade stocks?” Warren asked. “President Trump is not sitting in the Oval Office engaging in high frequency trading strategy, clearly he had an outside manager who was doing that,” Bessent said. “I think it’s incumbent upon both houses of Congress to get their house in order before you move to the administrative branch—”“You’re a Wall Street guy, so you know better,” Warren said. “The investments that President Trump has made are not blind.”🔥 here is the full video of Elizabeth Warren grilling Scott Bessent on Trump's indefensible stock trading. This is a master class. pic.twitter.com/Ur8biJMXC3— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 3, 2026The Massachusetts Democrat explained that Trump had signed a 113-page document listing all of his individual stock trades, while simultaneously making policy decisions that affected those stocks. “So you’re going to sit here with a straight face and say it’s not a conflict of interest for the president of the United States to do that?” she asked. “I am going to say this body needs to get its house in order first, I would encourage you to do that—” Bessent said.“I don’t trade in individual stocks. I don’t own any individual stocks,” Warren said. “My house is in order, thank you Mr. Secretary.”Warren questioned Bessent about Trump’s purchase of between $500,000 and $1 million worth of Nvidia stock one week before his administration moved to loosen export restrictions, allowing the sale of Nvidia chips to China and causing the stock price to soar. The senator asked whether the SEC should knock on Trump’s door to investigate this trade, but Bessent continued with his obstinate denials. “Please lead by example,” Bessent said. “I would like to see the president of the United States lead by example,” Warren said.Warren also asked about Trump’s purchase of tens of thousands of dollars of stock in the Bank of New York (BNY) and its partner Robinhood. Shortly after his purchase, the Treasury Department announced that the Trump accounts would be managed through, you guessed it, BNY and its partner Robinhood. “If these stock purchases that Trump made were made using inside information, would that be illegal?” Warren asked. Clearly, the answer would be yes, but Bessent played dumb. “Again, I’m not a lawyer,” Bessent said.“Would it be worth investigating?” Warren asked. “Why don’t we investigate many people on this committee?” Bessent said smiling. The secretary has good reason to avoid condemning Trump’s blatant corruption—he appears to be instrumental in pulling it off.
