The Treasury Secretary, Bessent, was told to shut up during a hearing before the House Committee on Financial Services

During a hearing of the House Committee on Financial Services on February 4, 2026, Democratic senior Congresswoman Maxine Waters asked Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to "shut up" after he did not directly answer her question but instead explained the policies and their effects. Bessent retorted that she lacked "etiquette," sparking public debate about political polarization and differences in economic policy.

The focus of the disagreement and conflict was

Waters asked Bessent whether he would advise the president to "stop the war against American consumers" regarding the tariff policies of the Trump administration. Bessent refused to give a direct answer and instead explained the necessity of tariffs, citing data from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco over 150 years, asserting that "tariffs do not cause inflation." Waters accused him of taking up speaking time and, in an emotional outburst, shouted at the chair: "Can you make him shut up?" Bessent countered with, "Can you maintain some dignity?" The chair then ended the speech by saying "time is up."

As a senior Democrat congresswoman, Waters believes that the Trump-era tariff policies have increased consumer prices (such as food and cars), worsening the cost of living, and are essentially "a tax on American consumers."

As the Treasury Secretary under the Trump administration, Bessent emphasized that tariffs are a "necessary measure to protect the U.S. economy," and claimed that the surge in immigration leading to increased housing demand is the real problem, which is unrelated to tariffs.

This verbal clash has been widely seen as a typical example of the division between the two parties in the United States, symbolizing political polarization.

Public commentary stated that the hearing turned into a "street fight," and the session was forcibly ended.(Special notice, the material is from the Internet)

Original: toutiao.com/article/1856250619548684/

Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author