Bessent Denies Threatening To Punch Bill Pulte, Confirms He Threatened To Kick His Ass
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent denied threatening to punch now-Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte “in the fucking face” during a summer 2025 spat.
At a Wednesday Senate Finance Committee hearing, Bessent denied threatened to punch Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, but confirmed that he threatened to “kick his ass.”
Republican North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis asked Bessent to confirm what he said on Wednesday, to which Tillis responded with “Good. I share the emotion.” Tillis has expressed that he does not support Pulte’s confirmation to be DNI on a permanent basis.
Tillis: "Did you actually tell Pulte you were going to punch him in the face?"
Bessent: "No sir. I actually said I was going to kick his ass."
Tillis: "Good. I share the emotion."
Sen. Tillis doesn't support Bill Pulte for National Intelligence Director if he's nominated. pic.twitter.com/TXxNVNFduJ
— Reuben Jones (@ReubenJones1) June 3, 2026
“Whoever told the President to go ahead and commit to this publicly before vetting it should lose their jobs, because they should know that the math just works against Pulte being confirmed,” Tillis said, according to CNBC.
“Whoever told the President to go ahead and commit to this publicly before vetting it should lose their jobs, because they should know that the math just works against Pulte being confirmed,” Tillis said, according to CNBC.
From Sen. Tillis' questioning of Sec. Bessent at Senate Finance:
"Did you actually tell [Bill] Pulte you were going to punch him in the face?"
"No sir, I actually said I was going to kick his ass."
"Good…I share the emotion."
— Colin Wilhelm (@colinwilhelm) June 3, 2026
The confrontation last summer occurred at an inaugural dinner at the executive branch after people told Bessent that Pulte had been criticizing him to President Donald Trump. (Read more from “Bessent Denies Threatening To Punch Bill Pulte, Confirms He Threatened To Kick His Ass” HERE)
