Scott Bescent admits that Trump created a “back door to privatize Social Security.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bescent said Wednesday that the Trump administration is committed to protecting Social Security hours after saying something new in an interview. Children’s Savings Program President Donald Trump has signed, “It’s a back door to privatize Social Security.”
Bescent was reported to have an account created under Trump on Wednesday evening. Tax credits and spending reduction methods “It complements the sanctity of Social Security’s guaranteed payments.”
“This isn’t a question either. Our administration is committed to protecting social security and ensuring that older people have more money,” Bescent said in the post. x.
Bescent’s remarks on the privatization of social security; He made it on the forum The Breitbart News hosted was impressive after the campaign trajectory and repeated promises that Trump, who is currently in office, will not be exposed to Social Security. It also rekindled the issues that have embraced Republicans for years.
The White House did not respond to requests for comment.
Democrats quickly seized comments as a sign that GOP wanted a revival to privatize dormant but unpopular retirement programs.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said in a Senate speech. “Best actually slipped, the truth said. Donald Trump and the government want to privatize Social Security.”
The idea of privatizing social security was previously raised by Republicans but was quickly abandoned. Millions of Americans rely on the certainty of federal programs they pay for the system during their working year, and then began receiving monthly checks guaranteed by seniors.
The privatization proposal shifts responsibility for the retirement savings system from the government and to the Americans themselves. Through individual savings accounts, people need to manage their own funds.
Under the GOP’s “big and beautiful bill,” when the law was called, Republicans launched a new child savings program, Trump account. It can be made for babies born in the US and offers a $1,000 deposit from the Treasury Department.
Like individual retirement accounts, Trump accounts can grow over time with an after-tax contribution limit of $5,000 per year, and are expected to be treated similarly to IRA rules, and ultimately take advantage of the adult-age distribution.
But Wednesday, Bescent allows for another rationale for the account, suggesting that it could ultimately be a way for Americans to save for retirement.
“In a way, it’s a back door to privatizing Social Security,” Bescent said while talking about the program.
The Treasury later said, “Trump Accounting is an additional government program that works to work with Social Security to increase American savings and wealth. Social Security is an important safety net for Americans, and will always be.”
Since the George W. Bush administration considered a proposal to privatize Social Security more than 20 years ago, Republicans have been publicly escaping politically popular and quickly abandoned issues.
In the preparations for the midterm in 2006, Democrats warned that they would use the GOP plan to privatize Social Security and destroy the program, which has led to millions of Americans becoming dependent on seniors. They gained control of both the House and Senate of Congress.
Democrats warned Wednesday that Bescent’s comments showed Republicans wanting to shift government-run programs to private programs, and that they were trying to dismantle the retirement programs that millions of Americans rely on.
“Donald Trump’s Treasury Secretary Scott Bescent said he just yelled out the quiet part. The administration plans to privatize Social Security,” Democratic National Committee spokesman Tim Hogan said in a statement.
“It wasn’t enough to just drive millions of people out of health care and take food from hungry children. Trump is now coming after his seniors in America with a ‘backdoor’ scam to steal the profits they’ve earned,” Hogan said.
Social Security programs have faced disastrous forecasts for financial forecasts for decades, but changes have long been politically unpopular.
According to the latest report from the program’s trustees, Social Security Trust Fund, which covers recipients of elderly and disabled people, will not be able to pay full benefits since 2034.
These officials say the findings underscore the urgency of changing the program.
Trump, which is tailored to the popularity of Social Security, has repeatedly said he will protect it.
Throughout the 2024 presidential election, Trump has repeatedly said he will “constantly protect social security,” and that his Democratic opponents, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, will destroy the program.
In the 2024 primary, he denounced other Republicans who expressed support for increasing Social Security ageing, which poses a threat to the program.
Trump said in December that he won the presidential election, saying, “We’re not touched on social security except that we’re making it more efficient,” he said.
His White House said this year that Trump will “always protect social security.”
Wall Street veteran Social Security Director Frank Vignano was asked at a confirmation hearing in March whether Social Security should be privatized. He said, “I’ve never heard of it” and “I’ve never thought about it.”