Trump's Treasury boss visits NY diner, downplays gas-price surge as 'blip'

Source: msn/USA Today

12h


YORKTOWN, NY − On a day reporting historic increases in gas prices and rising inflation, President Donald Trump’s Treasury secretary downplayed rising costs while promoting tax policies in suburban New York. Scott Bessent, head of the U.S. Treasury Department, on Friday, April 10, visited a diner in a Hudson Valley swing district about 40 miles north of New York City alongside embattled Rep. Mike Lawler, R-New York.

Bessent's tour in northern Westchester County, intended to tout the Trump administration’s economic policies in a district key to keeping GOP control of Congress, came the same day as Trump’s worst inflation report in his second term. It also comes amid the highest monthly gas price increases in recorded history, 21.2%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Rather than discussing economic fallout from the U.S.-Israel war in Iran, Bessent talked with residents and small business owners on the administration's policies, highlighting tax breaks, investment accounts for young children, and no taxes on tips for certain workers under the federal tax and spending bill.Before a diner roundtable with residents, Bessent toured Regeneron, a biotech firm, where he addressed rising costs with CBS News New York.

“This is a temporary blip from the one-time increase in gasoline prices,” he said. “If you look at the futures market, we’re going to get on the other side of this.”. Bessent didn’t speak to press at the event.

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-s-treasury-boss-visits-ny-diner-downplays-gas-price-surge-as-blip/ar-AA20CwZQ