At a private dinner last Wednesday, another near-fisticuffs event unfolded in the Trump administration.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent at one point threatened to punch top housing finance official Bill Pulte “in the fucking face.”
It happened at the Executive Branch, a Georgetown exclusive club created by and for Trump’s uberrich friends.
A long table for the 30-some guests was set with top-of-the-line crystal and china. The guest list included Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler, Medicare and Medicaid chief Mehmet Oz, plus venture capitalist David Sacks.
Apparently Bessent had heard through the grapevine that Pulte had been badmouthing him to Trump.
“Why the fuck are you talking to the president about me? Fuck you,” Bessent told Pulte. “I’m gonna punch you in your fucking face.”
When club co-owner and financier Omeed Malik tried to intervene, Bessent wasn’t having it and wanted Pulte kicked out.
“It’s either me or him,” Bessent said to Malik. “You tell me who’s getting the fuck out of here.”
“Or,” he added, “we could go outside.”
“To do what?” asked Pulte. “To talk?”
“No,” Bessent replied. “I’m going to fucking beat your ass.”
Malik ended up separating the two, and had them placed at opposite ends of the table, and the festivities carried on without further disruption.
There seems to be a turf war in the Trump administration over economic policies involving Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, and discrepancies over the firing of Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
Bessent plays the role of a “soothing” presence for market jitters, and has warned Trump of turmoil if he tries to fire Fed Chair Powell.
Pulte, on the other hand, has directly attack the Fed, going after Fed Governor Lisa Cook, and drafting a copy of a letter firing Powell for Trump to take control of the Fed.