Treasury Secretary nominee Scott Bessent said he would support hiking sanctions against Russia if President-elect Donald Trump directs him to do so and accused President Joe Biden of playing politics on sanction policy.

Scott Bessent, tapped by Donald Trump to be treasury secretary, faced sharp questions from Democrats and Republicans on tax policy, tariffs, China, Russia sanctions and the IRS.

Scott Bessent, Donald Trump's nominee for Treasury Secretary, said during a confirmation hearing Thursday that he is "perplexed" that the Biden administration did not impose more sanctions and tariffs on Russia's economy.

President-elect Donald Trump's Treasury secretary nominee Scott Bessent favors imposing tariffs on China, sanctions on Russia and making 2017 tax cuts permanent.

Scott Bessent, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to be secretary of treasury, looks on as he sits near his son Cole, on the day he testifies during a Senate Committee on Finance confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 16, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

Treasury secretary nominee Scott Bessent told senators Thursday he would be “100 percent on board” with increasing sanctions on Russia’s major oil companies if President-elect Trump supports that

Scott Bessent faced questioning by lawmakers from the Senate Finance Committee earlier Thursday as part of his confirmation hearing as a Trump Cabinet nominee. With President-elect Donald Trump's proposed tariff policies making waves ahead of his re-entry into the White House,

Asked whether Congress should abandon the federal debt ceiling, Bessent said that if Trump requested that, he would work with Congress to make it happen

President-elect Donald Trump's pick for Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, said on Thursday that the dollar should remain the world's reserve currency, the Federal Reserve should stay independent and that he is ready to impose tougher sanctions on Russia's oil sector.