# Scott Bessent Scott Bessent is an American public official and financial executive. This node routes his statements on the Treasury, financial security, economic policy, sanctions, and terrorist finance. ## Simple Reminders, Quotations, and Thoughts > “Today’s jobs report shows our great American companies have created nearly 400,000 private-sector jobs in the past three months. Manufacturing employment has now risen over 100,000 in 2026 alone.” > **— Scott Bessent**, *November 6, 2026 statement quoted in The Saturday Wrap-Up* [[reminders/Economic Transition/American Companies Created Nearly Four Hundred Thousand Private-Sector Jobs by Scott Bessent|American Companies Created Nearly Four Hundred Thousand Private-Sector Jobs by Scott Bessent]] > “This is only going to crescendo as hundreds of announced plants begin to open their doors, hire hundreds of thousands of workers, and deliver the kind of manufacturing jobs where one income can raise a family.” > **— Scott Bessent**, *November 6, 2026 statement quoted in The Saturday Wrap-Up* [[reminders/Economic Transition/Manufacturing Jobs Should Let One Income Raise a Family by Scott Bessent|Manufacturing Jobs Should Let One Income Raise a Family by Scott Bessent]] > "The resurgence of political terrorism, transnational in design and far left in doctrine, is no longer the concern of any one nation. It demands a response that draws upon the distinct and combined strengths of every government represented here today." > **— Scott Bessent**, *Ministerial on the Resurgence of Political Terrorism, July 16, 2026* [[reminders/Counterterrorism/Transnational Political Terrorism Is No Longer the Concern of Any One Nation by Scott Bessent|Transnational Political Terrorism Is No Longer the Concern of Any One Nation by Scott Bessent]] > Every campaign of terror has a financial lifeblood. The Treasury Department's response begins there because America's financial system is essential to its national security. > **Adapted from Scott Bessent**, *Ministerial on the Resurgence of Political Terrorism, July 16, 2026* [[reminders/Counterterrorism/Every Campaign of Terror Has a Financial Lifeblood by Scott Bessent|Every Campaign of Terror Has a Financial Lifeblood by Scott Bessent]] > "At President Trump's direction, the United States Treasury is bringing the full weight of our authorities to defend the integrity of the U.S. global financial systems." > **— Scott Bessent**, *Ministerial on the Resurgence of Political Terrorism, July 16, 2026* [[reminders/Counterterrorism/Treasury Brings Its Full Authority Against Terrorist Finance by Scott Bessent|Treasury Brings Its Full Authority Against Terrorist Finance by Scott Bessent]] > "More than 20 years ago, in the wake of 9/11, Treasury became the first finance ministry in the world to establish an office dedicated to disrupting the funding networks of terrorist organizations." > **— Scott Bessent**, *Ministerial on the Resurgence of Political Terrorism, July 16, 2026* [[reminders/Counterterrorism/Treasury Created the First Finance-Ministry Office Dedicated to Terrorist Funding by Scott Bessent|Treasury Created the First Finance-Ministry Office Dedicated to Terrorist Funding by Scott Bessent]] > "[Treasury's Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence] was created in recognition of the reality that America's financial system is essential to its national security. [Its] mandate to identify, disrupt, and disable illicit foreign funds that threaten our homeland has become one of the Treasury's defining responsibilities." > **— Scott Bessent**, *Ministerial on the Resurgence of Political Terrorism, July 16, 2026* [[reminders/Counterterrorism/Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Disables Funds That Threaten America by Scott Bessent|Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Disables Funds That Threaten America by Scott Bessent]] > "The resurgence of organized political terrorism has long occupied a blind spot. The international community has struggled to identify this danger, much less defeat it." > **— Scott Bessent**, *Ministerial on the Resurgence of Political Terrorism, July 16, 2026* [[reminders/Counterterrorism/The International Community Struggled to Identify Organized Political Terrorism by Scott Bessent|The International Community Struggled to Identify Organized Political Terrorism by Scott Bessent]] > "As the threat of terrorism evolves, the institution[al] tools that defend against it must adapt. We once understood terrorism principally as an external menace. That is no longer the world we inhabit. Increasingly, we are confronting sophisticated, organized networks across borders to incite violence within them." > **— Scott Bessent**, *Ministerial on the Resurgence of Political Terrorism, July 16, 2026* [[reminders/Counterterrorism/As Terrorism Evolves the Tools That Defend Against It Must Adapt by Scott Bessent|As Terrorism Evolves the Tools That Defend Against It Must Adapt by Scott Bessent]] > "Old ideological boundaries are now giving way to new operational alliances. The unified front between international Marxism and radical Islamic movements need not share the same ultimate vision to share the same immediate enemy of free and self-governing societies. ... Societies are rarely subverted from afar until they have first been weakened from within." > **— Scott Bessent**, *Ministerial on the Resurgence of Political Terrorism, July 16, 2026* [[reminders/Deception/Societies Are Rarely Subverted from Afar Until Weakened from Within by Scott Bessent|Societies Are Rarely Subverted from Afar Until Weakened from Within by Scott Bessent]] > "As it tears at the social fabric that allows our societies to function, left-wing terrorism is the visible manifestation of a much broader and more insidious effort to undermine the philosophies that built Western civilization and sustain all we hold dear." > **— Scott Bessent**, *Ministerial on the Resurgence of Political Terrorism, July 16, 2026* [[reminders/Civilization/Left-Wing Terrorism Tears at the Social Fabric of Western Civilization by Scott Bessent|Left-Wing Terrorism Tears at the Social Fabric of Western Civilization by Scott Bessent]] > "Some [left-wing terrorist] activities are overt: bombings, assassinations, and organized violence in our streets. Others are quieter: campaigns to suppress speech, intimidate political opposition, and sabotage our national institutions." > **— Scott Bessent**, *Ministerial on the Resurgence of Political Terrorism, July 16, 2026* [[reminders/Counterterrorism/Political Terrorism Operates Through Overt Violence and Quieter Institutional Sabotage by Scott Bessent|Political Terrorism Operates Through Overt Violence and Quieter Institutional Sabotage by Scott Bessent]] > "Violence requires money, channels through which funding can move, and institutions behind which it can hide. Increasingly, legitimate nonprofit and charitable structures are being exploited as a mechanism to conceal the movement of illicit funds to support political terrorism." > **— Scott Bessent**, *Ministerial on the Resurgence of Political Terrorism, July 16, 2026* [[reminders/Counterterrorism/Violence Requires Money, Channels, and Institutions Behind Which It Can Hide by Scott Bessent|Violence Requires Money, Channels, and Institutions Behind Which It Can Hide by Scott Bessent]] > "Through our Office of Foreign Assets Control, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, and IRS-CI, we have spent decades developing the world's most sophisticated financial counterterrorism capabilities. And now we are mobilizing some of the same tools that we have deployed against terrorists abroad to confront [organized political terrorism] here at home." > **— Scott Bessent**, *Ministerial on the Resurgence of Political Terrorism, July 16, 2026* [[reminders/Counterterrorism/Treasury Is Mobilizing Foreign Counterterrorism Tools Against a Domestic Threat by Scott Bessent|Treasury Is Mobilizing Foreign Counterterrorism Tools Against a Domestic Threat by Scott Bessent]] > "Like every form of illicit finance, [terrorist] networks rely on the global financial system. It is [the United States Treasury's] mandate to deny terrorist groups access to those channels." > **— Scott Bessent**, *Ministerial on the Resurgence of Political Terrorism, July 16, 2026* [[reminders/Counterterrorism/Terrorist Networks Depend on the Global Financial System by Scott Bessent|Terrorist Networks Depend on the Global Financial System by Scott Bessent]] > "The very qualities that make [nonprofits and charities] worthy of the public's trust can also make them appealing to those who endeavor to exploit them." > **— Scott Bessent**, *Ministerial on the Resurgence of Political Terrorism, July 16, 2026* [[reminders/Capture/Public Trust Can Make Charities Appealing to Those Who Exploit Them by Scott Bessent|Public Trust Can Make Charities Appealing to Those Who Exploit Them by Scott Bessent]] > "Where the evidence leads, [the United States Treasury] will not hesitate to follow. ... [Treasury] will hold these [charitable] organizations, officers, [and] directors accountable. And just as a financial institution must know their clients, [charitable organizations] must know their grantees." > **— Scott Bessent**, *Ministerial on the Resurgence of Political Terrorism, July 16, 2026* [[reminders/Counterterrorism/Charitable Organizations Must Know Their Grantees by Scott Bessent|Charitable Organizations Must Know Their Grantees by Scott Bessent]] > "The United States designated four far-left Antifa extremist groups abroad as Foreign Terrorist Organization[s], denying them access to the U.S. financial system and depriving them of resources they need to carry out attacks." > **— Scott Bessent**, *Ministerial on the Resurgence of Political Terrorism, July 16, 2026* [[reminders/Deterrence/Terrorist Designations Deny Groups Money Needed for Attacks by Scott Bessent|Terrorist Designations Deny Groups Money Needed for Attacks by Scott Bessent]] > "In this administration alone, OFAC has ... sanctioned 17 sham charities and nonprofit organizations for funding Hamas's terrorist activities and operations." > **— Scott Bessent**, *Ministerial on the Resurgence of Political Terrorism, July 16, 2026* [[reminders/Counterterrorism/OFAC Sanctioned Seventeen Organizations for Funding Hamas by Scott Bessent|OFAC Sanctioned Seventeen Organizations for Funding Hamas by Scott Bessent]] > "No terror organization should delude itself into the belief that its financing lies beyond our reach. No facilitator should assume that anonymity confers impunity, and no jurisdiction should expect to enable or harbor these activities without consequence." > **— Scott Bessent**, *Ministerial on the Resurgence of Political Terrorism, July 16, 2026* [[reminders/Deterrence/No Facilitator Should Assume That Anonymity Confers Impunity by Scott Bessent|No Facilitator Should Assume That Anonymity Confers Impunity by Scott Bessent]] > "In the fight against domestic terrorism, we must respect the constitutional rights, freedom of speech, association, and assembly of all Americans. ... Treasury will act based on suspected unlawful conduct by these terror organizations, not because of their beliefs or ideologies." > **— Scott Bessent**, *Ministerial on the Resurgence of Political Terrorism, July 16, 2026* [[reminders/Constitutional Power/Act on Unlawful Conduct Not Beliefs or Ideologies by Scott Bessent|Act on Unlawful Conduct Not Beliefs or Ideologies by Scott Bessent]] > "At Treasury, [countering terrorist finance] is mission-critical, but we cannot do it alone. The threat is transnational. Our response must be no less so." > **— Scott Bessent**, *Ministerial on the Resurgence of Political Terrorism, July 16, 2026* [[reminders/Counterterrorism/A Transnational Terrorist Threat Requires a Transnational Response by Scott Bessent|A Transnational Terrorist Threat Requires a Transnational Response by Scott Bessent]] > International cooperation against terrorist finance must be as disciplined as the networks it seeks to dismantle, and the global financial system must never become a sanctuary for those seeking to subvert it. > **Adapted from Scott Bessent**, *Ministerial on the Resurgence of Political Terrorism, July 16, 2026* [[reminders/Counterterrorism/Our Cooperation Must Be as Disciplined as the Networks We Dismantle by Scott Bessent|Our Cooperation Must Be as Disciplined as the Networks We Dismantle by Scott Bessent]] > "We will identify illicit funding, however artfully it is concealed. ... We will pursue those who enable political violence, however distant their jurisdictions, and we will deepen our collaboration with every nation represented in this room for as long as this work requires. This is our commitment, and we ask that you make yours, too." > **— Scott Bessent**, *Ministerial on the Resurgence of Political Terrorism, July 16, 2026* [[reminders/Deterrence/Treasury Will Pursue Political Violence Across Jurisdictions by Scott Bessent|Treasury Will Pursue Political Violence Across Jurisdictions by Scott Bessent]] > "Let us work together to translate the spirit of this ministerial into a commitment that endures well beyond it. And let us deny [terrorist] adversaries the one thing on which they count most: that those of us assembled in this room will grow weary in our cooperation before they do." > **— Scott Bessent**, *Ministerial on the Resurgence of Political Terrorism, July 16, 2026* [[reminders/Deterrence/Deny Adversaries the Hope That We Will Grow Weary Before They Do by Scott Bessent|Deny Adversaries the Hope That We Will Grow Weary Before They Do by Scott Bessent]]