Washington DC [US], October 23 : US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent hit back at Senator Elizabeth Warren, defending US President Donald Trump administration's decision to provide Argentina a USD 20 billion currency swap line with Argentina's central bank earlier in October, Fox Business reported.
Bessent's response came after Warren issued a letter voicing concern and requesting answers on why the Trump administration was moving forward with providing Argentina a financial lifeline as its economy struggles, particularly during a US government shutdown, which started on October 1.
"We have been forced to prioritise mission-critical efforts necessary to the discharge of the President's constitutional duties -- including national security and global financial stability," Bessent said in the letter, obtained by Fox News on Tuesday.
Bessent then accused Warren of displaying "Peronist views," a reference to a former president of Argentina, Juan Peron, and Peronism, an ideology that espouses that the government should have control of the national economy, according to the State Department's Office of the Historian.
"There is little surprise -- given your Peronist views on big government and freedom -- that this type of action causes you great anxiety," Bessent said.
CNN first reported the letter. Warren fired back at Bessent on Wednesday and said that Trump was more focused on helping an "ideological ally" rather than addressing US issues during the shutdown.
"Ultimately, President Trump does not appear to be interested in meaningfully addressing any of our country's pressing problems that are indeed 'mission-critical,'" Warren said in a new letter Wednesday. "Instead, during a government shutdown, his Administration is working to make direct purchases of a foreign currency -- helping an ideological ally, billionaire investors, and major hedge funds while American farmers and workers miss paychecks and face rising costs for basic necessities."
Warren, who is the top Democrat on the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, introduced the No Argentina Bailout Act in October. The measure would bar the Trump administration from using the Treasury Department's Exchange Stabilization Fund, which provides financing to foreign governments, to assist Argentina, as per Fox Business.