Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) went ballistic during a hearing focused on financial stability, having a total meltdown while questioning Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, telling him to “stop covering” for President Donald Trump. “I’m asking you to do your responsibility as secretary of the Treasury,” Meeks, a member of the House Committee on Financial Services shouted.
“Stop covering for the president. Stop being a flunky,” Meeks raged. He followed that gem up by saying, “Don’t be a flunky — work for the American people! Work for the American people! Don’t be a cover-up for a mob!” The lawmaker, along with many of his Democratic Party colleagues, took turns grilling Bessent over Trump’s tariff agenda and business interests in a hearing that took place in February 2026.
Meeks gave all in attendance an overview of the savings and loan scandal that transpired in the 1980s, when former President George H.W. Bush introduced a number of regulatory changes after a group of five U.S. senators were accused of expediting the case of Lincoln Savings and Loan Association Chairman Charles Keating Jr. The move resulted in a massive taxpayer-funded bailout of Wall Street costing over $130 billion.
“Now Mr. Secretary, I’m sure you can agree that conflicts of interest and improper influence by U.S. elected officials over bank regulators weaken supervisory independence and ultimately impose massive losses on consumers and taxpayers, I think we can all agree to that,” Meeks went on to say during the hearing, according to The Hill.
The Democratic lawmaker then adds that a “foreign asset firm” with connections to the United Arab Emirates “quietly bought about half of the Trump family’s crypto company, World Liberty Financial, and at the very same time, the president of the United States was dealing with that country on foreign policy.” He also hammered on the Trump family for not being transparent enough about their foreign business dealings.
“This is no longer just about a shady crypto deal or a possible gift,” Meeks rambled on. “When a foreign-linked investor is putting hundreds of millions of dollars into a company controlled by the president’s family and at the same time this president is conducting foreign policy with that country. You know what that creates? A national security concern.”
Meeks then asked Bessent if he would investigate World Liberty Financial’s licensing at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The secretary replied that the OCC was “an independent entity” before accusing the Democrat of making a trip to Venezuela in 2006 to “lobby [former Venezuelan President] Hugo Chavez on behalf of your donors.” A shouting match shortly ensued that led to the “don’t be a flunky” comment.
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Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) also ripped into Bessent over President Trump’s tariffs and then shifted gears to his immigration agenda, saying that it was “terrorizing communities … American communities.” She then said, “So, I ask you, Secretary Bessent, will you be the voice of reason in the administration and urge Trump to stop waging a war on American consumers and on housing affordability, and putting the economy at risk?” she added. “Yes or no? You don’t have to explain.” As Bessent attempted to answer, Waters continued to ask “yes or no” before finally adding, “Can you shut up?”
Featured Image: screenshot from embedded video