Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently posted his response to a letter penned by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), completely obliterating her over her lack of understanding about how foreign exchange markets work and banking in general. Warren’s letter, sent to Bessent on August 13, 2026, sought further details concerning the Treasury’s decision to sell euros from its Exchange Stabilization Fund and purchase yen after the Japanese currency fell to a 40-year low.
“In her latest sciolistic letter to me, @SenWarren made it clear that she knows even less about foreign exchange markets than she does about banking,” Bessent said in a post on social media platform X. It’s worth noting that Warren is the top Democrat on the Senate banking committee. The secretary then offered a tutorial to both Warren and her staff, hilariously called “Foreign Exchange for Dummies.”
He then accused the news media for failing to identify what he called her “remedial error.” Bessent wrote in his post, “What is equally shocking, but not surprising: not a single member of the media mob has a rudimentary-enough level of financial market literacy to spot her remedial error. To reiterate: under @POTUS, the United States delivers for America’s trusted partners.”
“For a fuller explanation, I recommend Senator Warren take any entry level course in international finance for her and her staff, or I can personally give her a tutorial on Foreign Exchange for Dummies. Although I am not holding my breath, I hope her next letter will demonstrate that she has learned the difference between a currency purchase and a swap or a loan,” Bessent’s post concluded.
In his letter responding to Warren, Bessent wrote in his opening paragraph, “I am in receipt of your August 13 letter, which unfortunately reveals that you know even less about foreign exchange markets than you do about banking. Terrifyingly, the opening paragraph is wrong about where the money came from, what the transaction was, and whether there was even a borrower.”
The secretary then set the record straight, saying, “Treasury exchanged existing Exchange Stabilization Fund foreign-currency assets for yen. No new congressional appropriation was involved, and no credit was extended to Japan. Japan owes Treasury nothing. There is therefore no risk that Japan will fail to repay a debt that does not exist.”
“You state that it is ‘not clear’ how preventing disorder in Japan benefits the United States. As your letter notes, Japan is a major holder of U.S. Treasuries. It is also a critical trading partner and a treaty ally. Disorderly yen markets can trigger forced unwinds, which could destabilize global markets and ultimately raise borrowing costs for American families and businesses. For a fuller explanation, I recommend any entry-level course in international finance for you and your staff, or I can give you a tutorial on Foreign Exchange for Dummies.”
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Bessent wrapped up the letter saying, “The American people deserve oversight grounded in facts rather than in slogans. Although I am not holding my breath, I hope your next letter will demonstrate that you have learned the difference between a currency purchase and a swap or a loan.” Warren fired back at the secretary over his post, saying,
“Tough couple weeks for Sec. Bessent,” Warren responded to the secretary’s post on X. “His effort to prop up a foreign currency hasn’t worked. His failed intervention in Treasury markets was blasted by his mentor as burning ‘two centuries’ of credibility. Trump’s economy is crushing families. Maybe he should focus on that.”