U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent hinted at a major shift for the Secret Service. He spoke about it during an interview with Daily Caller Editorial Director Vince Coglianese.
During Trump’s first term, there were plans to move the Secret Service back to the Treasury Department. It had been under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) since 2003. Officials believed the move would strengthen financial crime investigations, according to The New York Times. Now, Bessent says bringing the agency back under Treasury is part of the plan if Trump wins again.
“I think [the Secret Service] might like to come back. That’s a long arc project,” Bessent told Coglianese at the White House on Wednesday.
His top priority? Extending Trump’s 2017 tax cuts. “Our number one goal this year is passing and making permanent the 2017 tax cuts and jobs act. I said that is pass-fail for us,” Bessent said. He believes Treasury can tackle one big thing a year, along with a few other key projects. “So getting the president’s economic agenda in shape with this tax cuts and jobs act, I think if we do that we set the sails for the next four years and then everything else flows from there, especially for working Americans.”
“So you do envision bringing the Secret Service back to Treasury?” Coglianese asked.
“Again, it is an aspirational third or fourth-year thing that we’d like to do,” Bessent replied.
After 9/11, DHS took over the Secret Service in 2003. The move was meant to consolidate security efforts. During Trump’s first term, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin pushed to bring it back under Treasury’s control. Congress would need to approve such a change, but DHS opposed it. Officials feared losing cybersecurity and investigative resources. Mnuchin believed the switch was better for national security.
“The safety of the financial system is critical, so I worry about cybersecurity in that we need to have a safe and sound financial infrastructure,” Mnuchin told Axios. “This is a real issue today.”
Bessent echoed that national security is a big part of Treasury’s role. “Most people don’t understand, Treasury is economics but also we play a very big role in national security,” he said. He pointed to sanctions on Iran and Russia, as well as efforts against Mexican cartels. “So we are going to increase our scrutiny on those entities, maybe the assets that they have in the U.S. or outside of the U.S.”