Maggie Hassan grills Scott Bessent over rising gas prices and grocery costs

U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) on Wednesday grilled Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent over the impact of the high cost of living and skyrocketing gas prices on Americans. In a Senate hearing, Bessent struggled to defend President Donald Trump's policies and the Iran war as Hassan confronted him with the President's "disregard" for Americans' financial situation. 

During a Senate Finance Committee hearing, Hassan sharply questioned Bessent on the rising cost of living. "Do you think about how the American people are paying more for gas, groceries, and utilities, since the President clearly said he didn't?" Hassan asked, citing Trump's remark last month when he said Americans' financial woes didn't motivate him "even a little bit" to make a deal with Iran to end the war that sent the gas prices through the roof. "You speak with the President regularly. Are you trying to tell him the truth about how much costs have increased for the American people?"

Bessent swiftly responded to Hassan's questions by holding out a printout of a recent social media post from Trump that claimed the prices of many grocery items were down since he took office, with the caption reading,  "TRUMP'S MAKING FOOD AFFORDABLE." Despite the data in the post being questionable, Bessent defended the President, saying, "Well, Senator, I'm going to have to disagree with you on some of that, because I have groceries are going down." 

While government figures show core inflation jumped to the highest level in months, Bessent claimed, "And to be clear, since President Trump took office, food, food prices, or as many people like to call them, groceries, food at home in the statistical data, is up 2.5%." Hassan sharply hit back at Bessent with a question, "When's the last time you were in a grocery store?" She then pointed out that in New Hampshire, residents paid "$3,000 more" for basic goods and services since Trump's return to office, while America lost $100,000 in manufacturing jobs last year.

"So do you tell the President this information or not?" she asked, to which Bessent argued that aside from the "short-term blip" in inflation, the data on the U.S. economy was "very strong." Hassan dismissed the claims, saying, "Neither you nor the President nor this administration are willing to acknowledge how much more people are paying at the gas pump, at the grocery store, in utilities, for health care, for all aspects of American life."

Hassan's comments come from government data analysed by the Associated Press, which suggests Americans paid more for their groceries last month. The cost of food eaten at home rose 2.9% in April compared to the same month a year earlier, marking the highest year-over-year inflation rate for the category since August 2023. Furthermore, prices at restaurants and fast-food chains also increased, marking the overall increase of 3.2% in the last year, according to the Labor Department’s consumer price index. Furthermore, according to the American Automobile Association, the national average for gas prices stood at $4.261 on Wednesday, marking a nearly 40% increase from last year.