In a lively exchange on Sunday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent found himself in a verbal tussle with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos. The discussion took an unexpected turn when Bessent brought up a statement Stephanopoulos made back during the 1995-96 government shutdown.
The conversation kicked off on Stephanopoulos’s ‘This Week’ show, where he questioned Bessent about Donald Trump’s recent calls to do away with the filibuster—a Senate rule requiring most bills to garner at least 60 votes to move forward.
Bessent started to respond, “No, George, the best way to do it…” but quickly switched gears to address Stephanopoulos’s past role as a senior adviser in Bill Clinton’s administration during what was then the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.
In a PBS interview from 2000, Stephanopoulos reminisced about the Clinton staff’s strategy during the 21-day shutdown in early 1996, noting they aimed to paint Republicans as “basically terrorists” to pressure Congress into reaching a compromise.
Bessent didn’t hesitate to remind Stephanopoulos of those comments, saying, “Look, you were involved in a lot of these in the ’90s. And, you know, you basically called the Republicans terrorists.” He added, “You said that it is not the responsible party that keeps the government closed.”
‘You said that it is not the responsible party that keeps the government closed.
‘So what we need is five, brave, moderate Democratic senators to cross the aisle.
Stephanopoulos, 64, shot back: ‘I can disagree with you about the history there, but we don’t need a history lesson right now’.
A shouting match surrounding the current shutdown ensued, with Bessent’s request later becoming a reality.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent brought up ABC’s George Stephanopoulos past comments during a heated interview with the host on This Week Sunday
Stephanopoulos opened the interview by asking Bessent what he thought about Donald Trump’s recent attempts to eliminate the filibuster as a means to avoid future shutdowns
Bessent, 63, warned: ‘I’ve got all your quotes here, George.’
The ABC host shot back: ‘I’m sure you do. But let’s talk about the situation right now.’
Bessent then said he recently read Stephanopoulos’s book about his time in the Clinton White House, All Too Human: A Political Education.
‘So you got one purchase on Amazon this week. And that’s very much what you said,’ the official smirked.
Stephanopoulos pushed back: ‘That’s a mischaracterization of history.
‘But I do want to talk about right now, is the best way to end the – to end the shutdown right now to end the filibuster?’
Bessent, again, maintained: ‘The best way is for five Democratic senators to come across the aisle.’
The 21-day standoff between President Clinton and the Republican-dominated Congress in the mid-90s ended after a compromise where Republicans agreed to a budget proposal that involved fewer cuts than they originally sought.
Stephanopoulos (left) served as aa senior adviser to Bill Clinton’s White House during the then-longest shutdown in US history. The 1995-96 shutdown ended after a compromise that saw Republicans agree to a budget proposal that involved fewer cuts than they originally sought
The current shutdown has left 42 million Americans with no access to their SNAP benefits, as it entered its 40th day Monday. Despite a Sunday vote that suggests an end being in sight, it is the longest government shutdown in US history
Stephanopoulos went on to tell PBS’s Chris Bury of the strategy he and others employed at the time: ‘Our strategy was very simple.
‘We couldn’t buckle, and we had to say that they were blackmailing the country to get their way.
‘In order to get their tax cut, they were willing to shut down the government, throw the country into default for the first time in its history and cut Medicare, Social Security, education and the environment just so they could get their way.
‘And we were trying to say that they were basically terrorists, and it worked.’
In a 60-to-40 vote Sunday night, the Senate cleared the way for a spending deal to end the government shutdown that does not include a compromise.
As Bessent predicted, a group of Democrats defied party lines to vote with Republicans.
