Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent downplayed his past clash with Bill Pulte, President Donald Trump’s newly tapped acting intelligence chief, after senators pressed him Wednesday over reports that he once threatened to punch him at a dinner party."Did you actually tell Pulte you were going to punch them in the face," asked North Carolina Republican Sen.Thom Tillis on Wednesday, referencing reports from 2025 that Bessent threatened Pulte during a dinner. "No sir, I actually said I was going to kick his ass," the secretary quipped. The exchange during the Treasury's budget hearing renewed scrutiny of earlier reports detailing a clash between the two men, coming just days after Trump announced that the Federal Housing Finance Agency director would take on one of the government’s most sensitive national security responsibilities.DEM LASHES OUT AT BESSENT DURING HEATED COMMITTEE HEARING EXCHANGE: 'EXCUSE ME'Treasury Secretary Bessent downplayed his reported feud with Bill Pulte, saying he called to congratulate him on his new role leading intelligence.
(Mark Schiefelbein/AP)Reports at the time found that Bessent allegedly accused Pulte of undermining him with the president and threatened to punch him in the face while at a dinner in September.But as senators pressed him about Pulte's elevation to acting director, Bessent downplayed the flared tempers and revealed that he called Tuesday to congratulate him."Many teams squabble in the locker room and go out in the field," responded Bessent when asked if he was comfortable with Pulte’s appointment.When asked at the time about the alleged dinner quarrel, Bessent commented in September that it is not unprecedented to have Cabinet members to have physical altercations. "Treasury secretaries dating back to Alexander Hamilton have a history of dueling," Bessent said in a CNBC interview.DC DINNER TURNS CHAOTIC AS CODEPINK ACTIVISTS CORNER TREASURY SECRETARY SCOTT BESSENT: 'BLOOD ON YOUR HANDS'"Many teams squabble in the...