U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent blamed Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for prolonging the government shutdown, saying Democrats need to vote to reopen the government.

Bessent has kept markets in check recently, although Trump’s initial unveiling of steep “reciprocal tariffs” in April triggered a stock market rout. The US president was forced to pause the tariffs and start making deals to lower some of them.

The following is the transcript of the interview with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that aired on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" on Oct. 26, 2025.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called for "sound monetary policy" during a meeting with Japanese counterpart Satsuki Katayama, his department said on Tuesday, in the latest swipe at the slow pace of interest rate hikes by the Bank of Japan.

Out Treasury Secretary and hedge fund manager Scott Bessent is facing criticism for his claim over the weekend that he is “actually a soybean farmer” and therefore understands the pain that farm workers are going through.

"I believe that we have the framework for the two leaders to have a very productive meeting for both sides," the Treasury secretary said.

Scott Bessent said Ontario's anti-tariff ad, featuring quotes from Ronald Reagan, was "propaganda" aimed at swaying public opinion.

The Trump administration has moved money around to pay troops, but the financial juggling act can't go on much longer, Bessent suggested.

Bessent revealed the candidate pool has been narrowed down to five people and stressed that Trump will choose the nominee.