Scott Bessent threatened to punch a fellow Trump official in the 'f***ing face,' Politico reports

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reportedly threatened to punch the Trump administration’s federal housing official in the “f***ing face.”

Keep up with the latest in LGBTQ+ news and politics. Sign up for The Advocate's email newsletter.

Bessent, the highest-ranking out member of Trump’s administration, attended a party in Washington, D.C., last week where he got into a confrontation with Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte, according to Politico.

The altercation reportedly took place at a birthday party for venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya, a Trump supporter who co-hosts the “All In” podcast with fellow MAGA billionaire Davis Sacks. Many members of Trump’s Cabinet were also expected to be in attendance at the event, held at the MAGA-friendly Executive Branch.

But during the gathering, Bessent confronted Pulte for allegedly badmouthing his leadership of the Treasury Department directly to President Donald Trump, the outlet reports.

“Why the f*ck are you talking to the president about me? Fu*ck you,” Politico quotes Bessent saying to Pulte. “I’m gonna punch you in your f***ing face.”

Politico credits five unnamed sources, one of whom claimed to be an eyewitness to the exchange. The sources had conflicting accounts of who started the conversation, Bessent or Pulte, but all described the situation as the same.

That included the restaurant owner breaking up the interaction, which ended with Bessent inviting Pulte to “go outside” where the treasury secretary could “f***ing beat your ass.”

This isn’t the first time reports have emerged of Bessent choosing violence.

In April, Axios reported that Bessent had engaged in a screaming match with then-Department of Government Efficiency head Elon Musk, first in disagreement over who should serve as deputy treasury secretary and then about the effectiveness of so-called DOGE budget cuts. A witness described the scene as “two billionaire, middle-aged men thinking it was WWE in the hall of the West Wing.”

That incident allegedly occurred in view of Trump, and then continued down the hall. Offices for Musk and Bessent confirmed the argument occurred but did not discuss details. The Washington Post later reported that the men became physical with one another and had to be physically separated.

Musk, a month later, exited any official role with the administration, rather famously showing up to a final press availability with a black eye, which Musk said was from his young son hitting him. Bessent in an interview with Bloomberg in August denied rumors that he was responsible for the mark on Musk’s face.

“I can 100 percent say I did not give him the black eye,” Bessent said.