Thank you, Senator Widen. Secretary Bessent, you may make your opening statement.
Chairman Crapo, Ranking Member Widen, and members of the committee. Thank you for convening today's hearing. I'm grateful for this opportunity to discuss President Trump's 2027 budget, which builds on this administration's progress in unleashing a new era of economic expansion.
Could you pull the microphone a little bit closer?
Sure. I last appeared before this committee just a few weeks before the Senate passed the working families tax cuts. So, on the heels of the most successful filing season in IRS history, I'd be remiss if I did not begin by thanking the committee for helping to deliver this once in a generation bill to the president's desk. This day, under President Trump, we celebrated how much more money hardworking Americans kept, not how much the government took. Over 62 million tax returns claimed at least one of the president's signature new tax cuts: no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, deductibility of American car loan interest, and enhanced deduction for low and middle-income seniors. All told, the average refund increased by over 11% with refunds increasing by 18%. But as important as what this legislation achieved is what it prevented. If opponents of the working family tax cuts had their way, our economy would have absorbed the largest tax hike in its history, over $5 trillion. 90% of American taxpayers would have seen their standard deduction slashed while 40 million families would have seen their child tax credit halved. Instead, this committee held the line and the American people had a better tax day because of it.
Notably, President Trump's pro-growth policies don't stop at putting more money back in the pockets of working middle-class families. They extend to placing the American dream within the closer reach of their children. For context, nearly 40% of Americans have no exposure to our great US equity market, no stake in the companies they helped to build. Trump accounts represent a profound reimagining of that arrangement. They will ensure that every American child can benefit from private ownership and compound growth. That every American child, in short, is born a shareholder. To date, nearly 6 million Trump accounts have been opened with 1.4 million eligible for the thousand-dollar seed contribution. Of course, as his tax cuts deliver relief for working-class Americans, President Trump's economic agenda is bolstered by two other distinct but reinforcing levers: trade and deregulation. Let me briefly address both in turn.
First, the president is undeterred in his determination to open markets for US goods and services while rebuilding US manufacturing capacity. Over the 12 months ending March 26, the trade deficit for goods declined by approximately $370 billion compared to the same time frame ending March 2025. The economy has added 313,000 net private sector jobs and 13,000 manufacturing jobs in the past two months. Firm capital expenditures rose at an annual rate of over 17% in the first quarter and companies are investing trillions to build and expand here at home. American industry is winning again to the benefit of American workers.
A whole-of-government approach meanwhile is coupling our manufacturing revival with a great regulatory reset. Properly calibrated regulation is essential for economic growth, capital formation, employment and higher wages. So at the outset of this administration, President Trump set the ambitious benchmark of slashing 10 existing regulations before issuing a single new one. In 2025, we shattered the goal with a ratio of 129 to 1. As a result, deregulatory actions generated more savings last year than in those of the prior Trump administration combined.
Separately, any one of our initiatives on trade, tax cuts, and deregulation would be substantial. Taken together, they are transformative. Before President Trump took office, our trading partners exploited America's markets. Our regulatory states smothered businesses, and our tax code was poised to punish workers and job creators. Today, his policies are driving lower taxes, bigger paychecks, and broader prosperity. So, I thank you on this committee for its partnership in this critical work, and I look forward to building upon our stride through the president's budget for the year ahead. Thank you.
And I do want—I had hoped to keep this in terms of the economy. Senator Widen has maliciously slandered the Treasury building in an attempt to cover up his son having an investment meeting with Jeffrey Epstein to ask for funding.
Thank you.
Mr. Chairman.
Yes.
Let's be clear here. Nobody is interested in the ramblings of a capo in the most corrupt regime in American history. We want to get some facts about this deal. That's what we're here for. Thank you.
Well, thank you. And I will ask my questions first today.
And we would like to hear what Adam Widen and Jeffrey Epstein talked about. Your son's largest investment position was Rick's Cabaret. So, did your son and Jeffrey Epstein talk about pole dancing as he begged him for money using your limited credibility?
I'm going to proceed with my questions and, Mr. Secretary, I'm going to start with regard to the issues that Senator Widen raised. There have been a lot of accusations about the settlement agreement between the president and the IRS over the leak of his tax returns. On Monday, the Department of Justice announced that it would abide by the district court's ruling enjoining the creation or operation of the anti-weaponization fund that was established under the settlement agreement. Yesterday, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced at a hearing that we are not moving forward with the fund. Period. With respect to other parts of the settlement agreement, I'd like to give you the opportunity to set the record straight. Understanding that there is ongoing litigation, what can you share with us about Treasury and the IRS's role in the settlement agreement? Specifically, since IRS Commissioner Billy Long signed the settlement agreement, what can you share with us about his role in reaching that agreement?
Thank you for the question, Mr. Chairman. As we've done throughout this matter, the Department of Treasury is following the direction of the Department of Justice. And as you noted, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche testified yesterday that the government will not be moving forward with the fund. We intend to comply with that direction. I do not have any additional details into what that means at this time, but I will note that even with Acting Attorney General Blanche's statements yesterday, this matter is still subject to ongoing litigation, so I'm unable to comment further on it. As with all department litigation, the Department of Treasury and the IRS were represented by the Justice Department. So any additional questions about the settlement or the fund should be addressed to the Justice Department and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. Thank you, Senator.
All right. Thank you. With regard to the working families tax cuts, affordability remains top of mind for families across this country. Last summer, Republicans acted to prevent what would have been the largest tax increase in American history and delivered meaningful pro-growth tax relief through the working families tax cuts, providing much-needed support to American workers and families. Can you talk about Treasury's work so far to implement this groundbreaking tax relief, and what parts of the law do you view as the most helpful in addressing affordability issues?
Thank you, Senator. Since the working families tax cut was passed in record time on July 4th, I would describe the benefits as a barbell. On one side we have seen for American business the immediate expensing of capital goods and factories which have led to more jobs and construction jobs. On the other side, we have seen the president's signature policies: no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, reduced taxes on social security, and deductibility of American-made cars on the loans for those. 99% of the filers claiming any of those four deductions had incomes under $200,000. 90% had incomes under $100,000. We saw record tax refunds and we are not able to measure the delta in the refunds because we can only calibrate someone who had gotten a refund the year before. So that we cannot calibrate if someone had paid in. And as I have traveled across the country, many people have said, 'I paid a substantial amount last year, I've gotten a very large refund this year.' And I think very importantly to the certainty that our small businesses have gotten.
Thank you. The Senate Finance Committee is engaged in productive bipartisan discussions on the taxation of digital assets. As the digital asset industry continues to grow and evolve, there's an increasing need for durable common sense rules of the road that provide certainty for taxpayers, support innovation, and help ensure that the United States remains competitive in the global digital markets. Does Treasury support congressional efforts to develop comprehensive digital asset taxation? And in your view, what are the risks of continued inaction both in terms of taxpayer compliance and America's ability to remain competitive in the rapidly growing digital asset economy?
Senator, since President Trump issued his executive order, Treasury has been working tirelessly to implement the action on digital assets. We saw Congress pass stablecoin legislation, the Clarity Act, which I would encourage everyone to get behind. It is very necessary to bring best practices onshore and we work tirelessly in terms of custodying these assets and keeping them, making the US the innovation capital of the world.
Thank you very much. My time is expired and I encourage all my colleagues to note when their time expires. We want to keep moving expeditiously. Senator Widen.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Secretary, yesterday, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche indicated that the administration is not moving forward with the slush fund, but there's been no indication of what this means for the Trump alleged IRS audit immunity. So my first question is, does the IRS audit immunity given to Trump, his family, and his businesses still stand?
I'd like a yes or no answer to that.
You can tell me how to answer it.
I got five minutes. I'm going to use them for these questions.
