WATERS: Well, were you with my husband when he was the Ambassador to the Bahamas appointed by Clinton?
BESSENT: (Nodding) So...
WATERS: Well, you're not going to like this. And so this is the first...uh, didn't remember that, uh, but that's odd because you've been at Treasury and I've sent you five letters to ask about what was going on under your leadership, and only received a couple of cursory replies from your staff. Why didn't you respond?
BESSENT: Ma'am?
WATERS: I guess you don't know why you didn't respond.
I recognize that the dynamic between congressional Democrats and the administration is adversarial. And Waters may even have a legitimate gripe about not receiving an appropriate response to her inquiries (though, knowing Waters, it's tempting to assume the inquiries themselves may have been specious).
When I first spied the clip on X and the summary of the exchange, I assumed it was going to be a light-hearted moment. Frankly, those are occasional welcome breathers from the typical rancor we so often see in these hearings. But then I watched it and came away with a decidedly different impression. Bessent was being cordial and affable, while Waters was hellbent on being prickly and adversarial.
And lest there be any doubt as to the tenor of the rest of their interaction, rest assured, Waters continued with her ill-informed, ill-tempered display, while Bessent politely set her straight.
redstate.com/smoosieq/2025/05/07/maxine-waters-cranky-response-to-scott-bessents-light-hearted-anecdote-shows-what-a-shrew-she-is-n2188788