Trump's Treasury pick Bessent calls for stronger sanctions on Russia over Ukraine war

Published 01/16/2025, 12:26 PM
Updated 01/16/2025, 12:45 PM
© Reuters. Scott Bessent, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to be secretary of treasury, speaks as he testifies during a Senate Committee on Finance confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 16, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

By Bo Erickson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President-elect Donald Trump's pick for Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, said he "100%" supports raising sanctions on Russian oil producers if the future president requests doing so.

Bessent told U.S. senators on the Senate Finance Committee that he believes the Russian sanctions from the Biden administration "were not fulsome enough."

© Reuters. Scott Bessent, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to be secretary of treasury, looks on as he sits near his son Cole, on the day he testifies during a Senate Committee on Finance confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 16, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

"I think if any officials in the Russian Federation are watching this confirmation hearing, they should know that if I'm confirmed, and if President Trump requests as part of his strategy to end the Ukraine war, that I will be 100% on board with taking sanctions up --especially on the Russian oil majors -- to levels that would bring the Russian Federation to the table," Bessent said.

The nominee also said "the tragedy going on in Ukraine is one of the greatest tragedies of my adult life, and ending that as soon as possible -- and any role that Treasury can play in, that if confirmed, I would like to do."

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