Scott Bessent’s Dual-Front Testimony: AI Liability and Bond-Market Intervention

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent appeared before the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday. He warned lawmakers against granting AI-lab liability waivers and defended the Treasury’s recent large-scale buyback of U.S. Treasury debt as a tool to curb soaring 10-year yields.

The Guardian

AI liability debate – Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei published an essay urging a coordinated slowdown of frontier AI development and asking the government to issue a “narrow waiver” that would let labs discuss safety standards without full liability. The proposal has been backed by OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Elon Musk, and former DeepMind chief Demis Hassabis, while President Donald Trump publicly rejected it.

Gizmodo

Bond-market pressure – The 10-year Treasury yield rose to 5.041 %, the highest since 2007, as oil prices topped $108 per barrel and geopolitical tensions tightened energy markets. The national debt now exceeds $40 trillion, and mortgage rates have climbed to their highest level since June 2025.

The Guardian

• Bessent highlighted the Treasury’s “Gold Eagle” forum, which shares cybersecurity practices from banks with other industries.

FedScoop

• 10-year Treasury yield: 5.041 % (highest since 2007).

The Guardian

• Treasury buyback program: $6 billion this quarter, up from $2 billion previously.

The Guardian

• Crude oil price: $108 per barrel.

CNBC

• National debt: > $40 trillion.

CNBC

• Unemployment: 4.1 %.

CNBC

• “The data is clear. He’s added accelerant to the fire. He’s had the exact opposite impact that he wanted,” — Tim Mahedy, CEO, Access.

Gizmodo

• “Bond markets are clearly concerned by the rapid rise in crude oil price…U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent’s bond buyback plan has had no discernible impact,” — Paul Donovan, UBS chief economist.

The Guardian

• “I don’t think you can fool mother nature. You’ve got to fix the fundamentals,” — Douglas Holtz-Eakin, former Bush-era economist.

CNN

• “But this isn’t a market-functioning-style emergency. It’s a politically inconvenient increase in yields,” — David Wessel, Brookings senior fellow.

CNN

• “Our mandate is with the financial sector,” — Scott Bessent, Treasury secretary.

FedScoop

• “Since President Trump has come in, (the US bond market) has been the best-performing bond market in the developing world,” — Scott Bessent, Treasury secretary.

The Guardian

• “I tell people I feel like an emergency room doctor for people who have been backed over by a truck,” — Scott Bessent, Treasury secretary.

New York Times

• “I think putting more money in the American people’s pocket should be an objective for everyone, and I believe there are ways to do it that would not affect the deficit,” — Scott Bessent, Treasury secretary.

New York Times

The Treasury indicated that discussions on AI safety standards will continue, but no legislative timetable was provided. The bond-buyback program will run through the remainder of the fiscal year, with future purchases tied to market conditions and the administration’s broader fiscal strategy.

The Guardian