The United States Senate Finance Committee voted on Tuesday (January 21) to approve President Trump’s nomination of Scott Bessent as Secretary of the Treasury, paving the way for a full Senate confirmation vote.
On Tuesday morning, the Senate Finance Committee moved forward with Trump’s nomination of Bessent by a vote of 16 to 11.
All Republican members of the committee voted in support of the nomination, with two Democratic senators – Mark Warner of Virginia and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire – also casting affirmative votes.
Senate Finance Committee Ranking Democratic Member Ron Wyden stated that he “strongly” opposed the nomination and urged his Democratic colleagues to do the same. He reiterated Democratic concerns about Bessent’s past failure to pay certain health insurance taxes, which has stirred controversy.
During last week’s hearing, the 62-year-old Bessent defended himself against the tax issues and stated that if the court ultimately rules his interpretation was incorrect, he would set aside funds to pay additional taxes.
On Monday, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, a Republican from Idaho, pushed back against Democratic attacks on Bessent regarding tax issues, calling the accusations “completely false.”
Crapo said, “The issue is, this nominee has filed his taxes under current standards of tax law, but the Internal Revenue Service is seeking to change the interpretation of this controversial law, not just for this nominee but for many, many taxpayers.”