Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent shut down CNN’s Kaitlan Collins after she repeatedly pressed her questions during a White House briefing.
While Bessent initially responded to Collins during Thursday’s press briefing, he was not about to let her biased questioning on a potential $250 bill featuring President Donald Trump’s image stand uncorrected. The two locked horns during the exchange as Bessent eventually reiterated he was taking no more of the CNN anchor’s interruptions.
“You said that it’s up to Congress if the president’s face is on a $250 bill, but it is actually The Washington Post that’s reporting two political appointees from the Treasury Department who have asked agencies to be ready to do that,” Collins said, referring to what Bessent called a “terribly written” article.
🚨 LMAO!! Scott Bessent physically pulled out a Washington Post story about Trump on the $250 bill and CALLED OUT their writers to their faces
*Pulls out the story*: “Who here’s from the post? Yeah, TERRIBLY written, TERRIVLY edited!” 😭
“Because basically what it says is that… pic.twitter.com/CAiNhnKZi3
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) May 28, 2026
“Do you think politically it’s a good idea to put his face on a $250 bill when people are struggling to afford gas and groceries?” Collins asked.
The treasury secretary held up a copy of the “terribly edited” article as he responded.
“Basically, what it says is that Treasury is following the law, and that we’ve created the bill, and that it’s up to Congress, but that we follow the bill… I didn’t really understand what the story was, but anyway,” Bessent said.
Collins pressed again about the report’s claim that two political appointees from the Treasury Department are pushing for the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to get Trump’s face on the bill. Bessent explained that “we prepare for everything if it gets passed.”
“So we have to prepare in advance. You can’t draw something up the day before,” he said, reiterating comments he had made in response to an earlier question.
BREAKING: Secretary Scott Bessent reveals the Treasury Department is actively preparing for a historic $250 bill featuring President Trump, pending proposed legislation from Congress that would allow a living person to appear on U.S. currency:
“I have two mandates for U.S.… pic.twitter.com/2xksgTDmWM
— Fox News (@FoxNews) May 28, 2026
“Politically, do you think it’s a good idea, though, when people are struggling to afford gas and groceries?” Collins asked again.
“I think that it’s bifurcated. Do you think we should have a 250th anniversary celebration?” Bessent fired back.
“Well, that’s happening anyway. But putting the president’s face on a $250 bill is a choice,” Collins replied.
NOW: Treasury Sec. Bessent defends the proposal to put President Trump’s face on a $250 bill to commemorate America’s anniversary:
REPORTER: “Politically, do you think it’s a good idea though when people are struggling to afford gas and groceries?”
BESSENT: “I don’t think that… pic.twitter.com/UqJqwmLbvV
— Fox News (@FoxNews) May 28, 2026
“But Kaitlan, it’s not happening anyway. It’s happening because it’s being funded by private citizens, by the federal government, by state governments, by municipal governments to celebrate our country,” Bessent clarified. “And I don’t think that there’s anything untoward about having the President of the United States, that the person who was president of the United States on the 250th anniversary bill.”
He went on to call on another reporter as Collins continued to pepper him with questions.
“I will not be taking any other questions, meaning I will not be taking any other questions,” Bessent finally stated.
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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida. Powers also contributes to BizPac Review.
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