‘I Said I Was Going to Kick His A**’: Scott Bessent Admits He Threatened to Beat Up Trump’s Controversial DNI Pick

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent admitted that he threatened to beat up Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte — whom President Donald Trump has announced will serve as Acting Director of National Intelligence after Tulsi Gabbard’s departure at the end of this month — during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on Wednesday.

The revelation came after Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) asked Bessent, “Did you actually tell Pulte you were going to punch him in the face?”

“No, sir. I actually said I was going to kick his a**,” replied Bessent.

“Good. OK, good. I share the emotion — thank you,” mused Tillis.

“And, as I said, that was last summer, summer ’25,” interjected Bessent. “And many teams have fights in the locker room, and then go out and win for the team on the field.”

“Yeah, yeah. No, I was just curious because everybody’s gonna be showing that,” said Tillis. “I made it clear I’m not gonna support Pulte for DNI, but I’m sure they’re gonna dredge that up, so I thought I’d give you an opportunity to-”

“I had a very good exchange with the director yesterday,” interrupted Bessent again. “I want to keep the momentum going on the–”

“Yeah, well, he lost me when he went after [Jerome] Powell,” declared Tillis.

Politico reported on the altercation between Pulte and Bessent last September:

A private dinner attended by dozens of administration officials and close advisers to President Donald Trump was temporarily marred by a dramatic clash between two of Trump’s top economic officials, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent at one point threatening to punch top housing finance official Bill Pulte “in the fucking face.”

…

But amid the cocktail-hour din, Bessent lashed out at Pulte in an expletive-laden diatribe. The Treasury secretary had heard from several people that the Federal Housing Finance Agency director had been badmouthing him to Trump, a person close to him said. He wasn’t about to engage in chit-chat as if nothing was amiss.

“Why the fuck are you talking to the president about me? Fuck you,” Bessent told Pulte. “I’m gonna punch you in your fucking face.”

The scene was described to me by one eyewitness and four other people familiar with what happened. The only fact they disagreed on was whether it was Bessent or Pulte who initiated the conversation. They and others who described the conflict were granted anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation.

Pulte appeared stunned, and the tense encounter prompted club co-owner and financier Omeed Malik to intervene, according to the three people. But Bessent wasn’t having it — he sought to get him kicked out, the eyewitness said.

“It’s either me or him,” Bessent said to Malik. “You tell me who’s getting the fuck out of here.”

“Or,” he added, “we could go outside.”

“To do what?” asked Pulte. “To talk?”

“No,” Bessent replied. “I’m going to fucking beat your ass.”

Trump’s selection of Pulte has been met by a bipartisan backlash, with critics decrying his lack of national security and intelligence community experience, as well as his efforts to come up with a predicate for prosecuting the president’s political opponents.

Watch above via C-SPAN.

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