Category: Treasury Dept./CFIUS

White House update: Karoline Leavitt & Secretary Bessent | LiveNOW from FOX

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt and Treasury Secretary Bessent provided an update on Tuesday. The White House says President Trump has created 345,000 jobs. President Trump's team shared the following statement: "President Trump has created 345,000 jobs since taking office in January.

  • 188,000 (54%) of these were in non-government and government-adjacent sectors. This is a dramatic improvement from the last two years of the Biden Administration, when three-fourths of all new jobs were in government or government-adjacent sectors. 2,000 of which were mining and logging jobs. 27,000 of which were construction jobs. 9,000 manufacturing jobs were created (compared to the 6,000 manufacturing jobs lost per month from Jan 2023 to Dec 2024).
  • At the same time that there were large private sector job gains, 15,000 federal government jobs were cut.

Treasury Secretary Bessent ‘Shocked’ at Trump, Zelenskiy Argument

United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent sits down for an exclusive interview with Bloomberg's David Westin after a shouting match between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and President Donald Trump in the Oval Office. Bessent discusses the fallout and the future of the US-Ukraine relationship, as well as the status of tariffs and inflation. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent characterized the visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to the White House on Friday as “unacceptable.”  “It’s very difficult to do an economic deal with a leader who doesn’t want to do a peace deal,” Bessent said Friday in an interview with Bloomberg Television. Bessent’s comments came shortly after President Donald Trump’s aim to sign a critical minerals deal with Zelenskiy unraveled in a stormy Oval Office confrontation between the two leaders. The public spat was largely over whether Zelenskiy was sufficiently grateful for US assistance. Zelenskiy had been seeking greater security guarantees from the US in exchange for signing on to the pact. The deal didn’t offer explicit security guarantees, instead focusing on the economic partnership between the US and Ukraine. Zelenskiy pressed the point that the minerals deal wouldn’t do enough to deter further Russian aggression. “Putin will never stop and will go further and further,” Zelenskiy said, adding that the Russian leader “hates Ukrainians” and wants to destroy the country. “We can do it, but it’s not enough,” he added of the deal. Bessent called the Zelenskiy argument “one of the great diplomatic own goals in history,” referring to an instance in soccer when a player accidentally scores a goal for the opposing side. “I was shocked, shocked that President Zelenskiy would come into the Oval Office and behave like this, speak to the president, speak to the vice president — but more importantly, disrespect the American people — like this,” Bessent said. The Treasury chief went on to say the proposed minerals agreement would have been a “fantastic deal.” The proposal would share revenue from future extraction of government-owned minerals and energy resources such as gas, as well as from terminals and port infrastructure, according to a draft text seen by Bloomberg. That would apply to new projects rather than existing ones, and could require hefty investment in mines, as well as any processing facilities.

Trump’s Treasury Secretary SHUTS DOWN Reporter Trying to Attack DOGE

The Biden government hired 80,000 new IRS agents to make sure YOU followed every one of their complicated tax laws. But when President Trump ordered DOGE to audit the government, politicians and the media squealed! That should speak volumes about what their true priorities are, Glenn says. Glenn and Pat review some of the latest pushback from the establishment, including how Democrats are whining about Elon Musk and how a judge tried to block even Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent from accessing Treasury data.

Chinese hackers breach US Treasury computers

The US Treasury says Chinese hackers stole major documents in a computer breach. The hackers compromised third-party cybersecurity service provider BeyondTrust and were able to access unclassified documents, the letter said.

China denies accusations of breaching U.S. Treasury, alert triggers cybersecurity probe

The US Treasury Department disclosed that Chinese hackers breached a third-party service provider earlier this month, gaining access to several workstations and unclassified documents. The breach, which occurred after BeyondTrust, the service provider, alerted the Treasury on December 8, allowed the hackers to bypass security using a stolen key and remotely access employee systems. The Treasury did not specify how many workstations were affected or what documents were stolen, but assured there was no evidence of ongoing access to sensitive data. In response, the department is strengthening its cybersecurity defenses. The Treasury is investigating the breach in collaboration with the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). The attack is linked to broader Chinese state-sponsored cyber activities, including the Salt Creek campaign targeting telecommunications companies. Beijing has denied involvement and opposes all forms of cyberattacks, claiming to take measures against such threats.

U.S. Says Chinese Hackers Breached Treasury Systems, Beijing Rejects Washington's "Smear Attack"

In December 30, 2024, the US Treasury Department confirmed that Chinese-backed hackers had infiltrated its systems in a major cybersecurity breach. Assistant Secretary for Management Aditi Hardikar disclosed that the hackers used a stolen key to remotely access Treasury workstations. The breach, attributed to a Chinese state-sponsored Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) actor, compromised unclassified documents. A third-party software provider, BeyondTrust, first reported the breach on December 8, revealing that hackers exploited a stolen key tied to their service. Both AT&T and Verizon also confirmed cyberattacks by the Chinese intelligence group Salt Typhoon, targeting major US telecom firms and gaining access to sensitive communications. The US Commerce Department responded by banning China Telecom operations in the US, while CISA urged senior political figures to switch to encrypted apps. Despite denials from China, the US government continues to strengthen efforts to protect national systems and interests.

China Hacks U.S. Treasury, What's Up Taiwan – News at 14:00, December 31, 2024｜TaiwanPlus News

 

Secret Service Seals Up White House Campus, Vice President’s house, & Treasury with riot fences today as election nears.

Fences are going up around the White House and the Vice President's house this weekend, along with more buildings in DC being secured from possible election violence.

New fences up at Treasury and the Vice President's house due to election violence fears.

Anti-scale riot fencing is being installed at the Vice President's residence tonight, and earlier today we saw spiked fences around the Treasury Building next to the White House. The election is just 72 hours away.

Janet Yellen Says ‘We Don’t Have To Get The Prices Down’~Then John Kennedy Reacts~COMPARED TO 1923 IN GERMANY’S HYPERINFLATION

Inflation rises faster than expected in January, up 18% since Biden took office; Former Assistant Treasury Secretary Monica Crowley discusses the strain inflation is having on the middle and lower class

COMPARE NOW TO THE GERMAN HYPER-INFLATION OF 1923:

THE GERMAN HYPERINFLATION OF 1923: A RETROSPECTIVE

5 trillion (5 Billionen, 5×1012) marks, Stuttgart, 1923

notgeld farbw 3 mio 08 1923

Hyperinflation: The Most Notorious Story of Inflation - (Weimar Republic) Germany

 

Biden May Let Iran Collect Billions for Release of U.S. Hostages

BY DANIEL GREENFIELD

SEE: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2023/06/biden-may-let-iran-collect-billions-for-release-of-u-s-hostages;

Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.

“Iran also expects the United States to unfreeze billions of dollars in Iranian assets.”

What’s worse than a formal deal with Iran? An informal deal with the Islamic terror state.

The enforcement elements of the formal deal were mostly worthless and put Iran on a track to nukes. You can only imagine how truly spectacularly reliable they’ll be on the informal deal.

The Biden administration has been negotiating quietly with Iran to limit Tehran’s nuclear program and free imprisoned Americans, according to officials from three countries, in part of a larger U.S. effort to ease tensions and reduce the risk of a military confrontation with the Islamic Republic.

The U.S. goal is to reach an informal, unwritten agreement, which some Iranian officials are calling a “political cease-fire.” It would aim to prevent a further escalation in a long-hostile relationship that has grown even more fraught as Iran builds up a stockpile of highly enriched uranium close to bomb-grade purity, supplies Russia with drones for use in Ukraine and brutally cracks down on domestic political protests.

Islam does allow cease-fires with infidels. But the cease-fire only lasts until the Islamic cause is in a position to annihilate the infidels it reached a cease-fire agreement with.

The upshot of the deal is that Iran promises not to enrich uranium beyond a certain point, will stop trying to kill Americans in Iraq, and won’t aid Russia too much. In return, sanctions relief, as per usual.

Also cash for hostages.

“Iran also expects the United States to unfreeze billions of dollars in Iranian assets, whose use would be limited to humanitarian purposes, in exchange for the release of three Iranian American prisoners whom the U.S. calls wrongfully detained. U.S. officials have not confirmed such a linkage between the prisoners and the money, nor any connection between prisoners and nuclear matters.”

“In what could be a sign of a developing agreement, the United States issued a waiver last week allowing Iraq to pay $2.76 billion in energy debts to Iran.”

Iran’s negotiating style tends to depend on playing hard to get. It’s not that its negotiators are more talented, but they understand that they represent national interests and that they’re playing an enemy.

Our negotiators want to give up everything in exchange for the reassurance that they’re making the world a better place.

Much like Hitler and Chamberlain, it’s not much of a competition.

The only remaining question is how many billions will Biden let Iran have in exchange for more hostages.

MONICA CROWLEY: What are the dangers of a digital dollar?~A threat to all our freedoms!

‘The Monica Crowley’ podcast host Monica Crowley warns about the push to adopt a digital currency across the western world on ‘Kudlow.’

Powell is deep in ‘monetary madness,’ ex-Fed board member warns~US recession will hit ‘everywhere all at once,’ economist warns~Home Depot co-founder calls for Fed resignations~Maria Bartiromo: The Federal Reserve is ‘walking a fine line’

US recession will hit 'everywhere all at once,' economist warns

Macro Mavens President Stephanie Pomboy and former Reagan admin economic adviser Art Laffer analyze potential market reaction to the Fed's rate hike decision Wednesday.

‘BRUTAL’ TRUTH: Home Depot co-founder calls for Fed resignations

Home Depot co-founder Ken Langone makes a 'draconian' suggestion for the entire Federal Reserve board to resign.

Maria Bartiromo: The Federal Reserve is 'walking a fine line'

Republicans Demand Spending Cuts Before Raising Debt Ceiling

Republicans Demand Spending Cuts Before Raising Debt Ceiling

BY DAVID KELLY

SEE: https://thenewamerican.com/republicans-demand-spending-cuts-before-raising-debt-ceiling/;

Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and the new Republican-controlled Congress were given an extension by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen earlier this month to remedy the debt ceiling by June to avert a catastrophic default on U.S. debt. That gives them less than five months to find an agreeable solution. 

The United States reached its debt limit of $31.4 trillion on January 19, with the Treasury Department using “extraordinary measures” to ensure the federal government will not default on its obligations. Both Congress and President Biden will need to agree to raise or suspend the statutory debt limit before June to keep the government solvent. 

The Republicans, who have a slim majority in the House, are demanding spending cuts as part of any deal to raise the debt ceiling. But they face a difficult challenge, as Biden has already rejected the possibility of linking increasing the debt ceiling with cutting federal spending. Administration officials believe the debt ceiling should be raised as part of a clean vote, without other conditions attached.  

Being fiscally responsible and making spending cuts is easy to talk about, but the real conundrum Republican lawmakers are facing is what and where to find these spending cuts. Coming up with a solid plan is making life difficult for McCarthy and the narrow majority. 

NBC shared,  

“There’s gotta be cuts in spending. That has to happen,” said Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., an ally of McCarthy, R-Calif., and the far right.  

But she declined to get specific when she was asked what should be cut.  

“I haven’t really formulated an exact list,” she said. 

There are many general areas of government spending that Republicans would love to cut, but they are divided on specific programs, including Medicare, Social Security, and military funding. They are willing to cut domestic non-defense spending, although it’s a small part of the overall budget and most likely won’t make much of an impact on balancing the budget. One thing they all agree on is that there should be no new tax revenues to reduce the debt.  

Speaker McCarthy will need to find a way to avoid another defiant stand by GOP representatives who will not budge from their core principles if he is to get a debt-ceiling bill passed and Biden’s signature. Those members of the House who sought concessions during McCarthy’s run for the speaker’s seat will pose the greatest challenge to his leadership.  

NBC continued:  

“I have said since I first ran that I would not vote for a debt ceiling increase apart from the cuts in spending that would put us on a path to fiscal responsibility,” said Rep. Bob Good, R-Va., who declined to elaborate on what specifically that would look like. 

Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., who landed a seat on the powerful Rules Committee, said he wants to see “a downward trajectory” in long-term spending as part of any increase in the debt ceiling. 

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., another of the 20 initial McCarthy holdouts, said a debt limit bill should have an amendment to balance the budget over 10 years to win her vote.

Luna said she wants to do it without tax increases or Social Security or Medicare cuts. “Where there’s a will, there’s a way,” she said. 

Adding to McCarthy’s challenges within his own party is knowing that Biden is defiant and setting the stage for a long, drawn-out battle over the debt ceiling.  

The Hill reported:

“If Republicans want to work together on real solutions and continue to grow manufacturing jobs, build the strongest economy in the world and make sure Americans are paid a fair wage, I’m ready,” Biden said in remarks on the economy in Springfield, Va. “But I will not let anyone use the full faith and credit of the United States as a bargaining chip…. The very notion that we would default on the safest, most respected debt in the world is mind-boggling.” 

If an agreement can’t be reached in time, the consequences of default could include a stock market crash, a recession, higher interest rates, a weaker dollar, and a government unable to meet all its obligations — from funding the military to providing Social Security benefits. 

No one knows what Congress will eventually offer up as a solution, but it is apparent that the battle lines have been drawn and all sides are digging in, hopeful to win the day. The bottom line here is that no matter what happens with the debt ceiling, it will be the American taxpayer who will once again have to pay for our fiscally irresponsible government.  

1 2 3