At a House Financial Services Committee hearing, Congresswoman Maxine Waters did not hold back.
The veteran California Democrat repeatedly tangled with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday, challenging his take on President Donald Trump’s tariffs, climbing inflation, and the administration’s economic policies.
“If tariffs aren’t inflationary, as you asserted in your prior testimony, then why has inflation risen by more than three percent over the past year? Do you concede that three percent inflation is too high? Yes or no?” Waters pressed Bessent.
“Representative why?” Bessent began, but Waters wasn’t letting him off the hook.
“Yes or no? Yes or no, Mr. Secretary,” Waters repeated as he tried to talk over her.
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“I am reclaiming my time,” the congresswoman stated as she held up her hand at Bessent. She reiterated “reclaiming my time” at least five times as Bessent refused to answer.
Arkansas Republican French Hill, the committee chairman, interjected as Waters asked him whether she got her time back. He agreed she did indeed.
She told Bessent what she thought of his attempt at dodging her questions. “That’s not good enough, sir.”
Social media erupted in support for Waters’ no-nonsense tactic.
“Oh, she is NOT playin’. I love this!!!” an X user gushed.
Others agreed, writing, “And that’s how to do it!” and “Go, go wipe that smirk off his face.”
“This is how you do it. She’s one of maybe 3 Democrats who know how to control these interactions correctly,” another commenter pointed out.
The National Museum of African American History & Culture website even has a section dedicated to when Waters first used the phrase “reclaiming my time.”
She first used it during House testimony by former Trump Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin in 2017 when he tried to dodge her questions.
It went viral at the time and refers to the chamber’s procedural rules. She used it to get back her allotted time for questioning after Mnuchin wasted it by refusing to answer.
Just last week, the national debt under Trump surpassed $40 trillion. Inflation remained high in August at 3.4 percent, unchanged from July, according to NerdWallet.
One measure of rising inflation is the Consumer Price Index, or Core CPI, which excludes food and energy because they tend to be more volatile. The Core CPI at the end of July was up 2.4 percent from a year ago. Nerd Wallet reports that it compares to 2.5% for the year ending July.
Prices for food, energy, and other goods and services have skyrocketed since Trump returned to the White House in January of 2025.
After Trump launched a deadly and unapproved boondoggle of a war on Iran in February, gas prices have spiked well above $4 a gallon, and diesel is now at record-breaking levels.
Gas is averaging $4.32 a gallon, according to Triple A, and diesel is averaging a record $6.26 a gallon. Diesel prices also affect farmers, trucking and shipping companies, and mom-and-pop businesses. Those higher costs are then passed on to consumers.
Bessent defended Trump’s policies during the three-hour hearing and the president’s war against Tehran. He even claimed at one point that Trump has presided over an “economic” turnaround, The New York Times reported.
But in reality, for average Americans, borrowing prices are surging as the bond market devolves into chaos. Bessent tried to say his intervention efforts are successful. But the market isn’t showing that.
The Bond market refers to the returns investors earn on money. But as the Times reports, the 10-year Treasury yield is trading at a threshold seen only once before since 2007 at around 5 percent.
The U.S. economy and mortgage market crashed in 2007 in the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.
The 10-year Treasury rate affects borrowing costs, including for mortgages and autos.
