Democratic U.S. Rep. Stacey Plaskett chided Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent for interrupting her during a House committee hearing on Wednesday.
Plaskett, a non-voting delegate representing the U.S. Virgin Islands, took Bessent to task after he tried to cut her off as she explained the stock market has dipped since President Donald Trump took office.
As Bessent tried to interject, telling Plaskett that her notes were “incorrect,” she began lecturing him about conversational etiquette.
“Excuse me. Let me get something straight with you first here. I’ve seen you interrupt everyone,” Plaskett tells Bessent. “When you come to someone’s house, you respect their rules, and in this house, we don’t interrupt individuals, and you’re not going to interrupt my time. I’m going to give you time to respond.”
She then suggests that he take notes and then deliver his response only when she’s done speaking.
“You may want to jot down some notes about things that you don’t agree with me on so that you can respond to them at that time. But while I’m speaking as the person holding this time, you will refrain from speaking, sir, until I’m done, and then I will give you time to speak,” she said.
Bessent interjects again with, “I look forward to responding. I look forward to the facts.”
Plaskett comes back with, “I look forward to your response, whether they’re factual or incorrect.”
After she completes her remarks, Bessent then dives into his rebuttal, suggesting Plaskett fire the staffer who mocked up her chart, asserting that the stock market has been up since the first day of 2025, even though Trump wasn’t sworn in until Jan. 20.
“Well, first of all, I would fire the staffer who did that chart, because it stopped in February 2025, and prices are down substantially since then. But that’s an inconvenient truth. Secondly, the S&P, if the congresswoman would care to check Bloomberg, the stock market as judged by the S&P, which is the most widely held index by American 401(k)s, is up on the year,” Bessent said.
The NASDAQ reported that the S&P 500 closed at 6,049.24 on Jan. 21 and closed at 6,022.24 on June 11.
A Labor Department report released on June 11 also shows consumer prices increased 2.4% in May compared to last year. That is up from a 2.3% yearly increase in April. According to the report, the cost of groceries, toys, games, and large appliances rose from April to May, while prices of new and used cars, clothes, airfares, and hotels.
After a clip of Plaskett’s remarks to Bessent went viral, one X user directed a sexist comment toward her, and Plaskett responded with a fiery comeback.
