Link , Link , Link , https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=208df9b37356884f&rlz=1C1UEAD_enCA1024CA1024&sxsrf=AE3TifOqdt8DNhlUzT7YjUGnJKfhixcxrw:1754005364417&q=Bessent+says+new+Trump+child+savings+accounts+are+back+door+for+privatizing+Social+Security+US+Treasury+Secretary+Scott+Bessent+during+a+press+conference+after+the+trade+talks+between+the+US+and+China+in+Stockholm,+Sweden,+Tuesday,+July+29,+2025.+(Magnus+Lejhall/TT+News+Agency+via+AP)+BY+MICHELLE+L.+PRICE+AND+LISA+MASCARO+Updated+7:01+PM+EDT,+July+30,+2025+Share+WASHINGTON+(AP)++Treasury+Secretary+Scott+Bessent+said+Wednesday+that+the+Trump+administration+was+committed+to+protecting+Social+Security+hours+after+he+said+in+an+interview+that+a+new+childrens+savings+program+President+Donald+Trump+signed+into+law+is+a+back+door+for+privatizing+Social+Security.+Bessent+said+Wednesday+evening+that+the+accounts+created+under+Trumps+tax+break-and-spending+cut+law+will+supplement+the+sanctity+of+Social+Securitys+guaranteed+payments.+This+is+not+an+either-or+question:+our+Administration+is+committed+to+protecting+Social+Security+and+to+making+sure+seniors+have+more+money,+Bessent+said+in+a+post+on+X.+Bessents+remarks+about+privatizing+Social+Security,+which+he+made+at+a+forum+hosted+by+Breitbart+News,+were+striking+after+Trumps+repeated+promises+on+the+campaign+trail+and+in+office+that+he+would+not+touch+Social+Security.+It+also+reignited+an+issue+that+has+dogged+Republicans+for+years.+The+White+House+did+not+respond+to+a+request+for+comment.+Democrats+quickly+seized+on+the+comment+as+a+sign+the+GOP+wants+to+revive+a+dormant+but+unpopular+push+to+privatize+the+long-running+retirement+program.+RELATED+STORIES+Senate+GOP+put+Trumps+bill+back+on+track+to+meet+July+4+deadline+Whats+in+the+latest+version+of+Trumps+big+bill+now+before+the+Senate+Americans+want+Medicaid+and+food+stamps+funding+maintained+or+increased,+AP-NORC+poll+shows+A+stunning+admission,+Senate+Democratic+leader+Chuck+Schumer+said+in+a+Senate+speech.+Bessent+actually+slipped,+told+the+truth:+Donald+Trump+and+government+want+to+privatize+Social+Security.+The+idea+of+privatizing+Social+Security+has+been+raised+by+Republicans+before,+but+quickly+abandoned.+Millions+of+Americans+have+come+to+rely+on+the+certainty+of+the+federal+program+in+which+they+pay+into+the+system+during+their+working+years+and+then+receive+guaranteed+monthly+checks+in+their+older+age.+Privatization+proposals+would+shift+the+responsibility+for+the+retirement+savings+system+away+from+the+government+and+onto+Americans+themselves.+Through+personal+savings+accounts,+people+would+need+to+manage+their+own+funds,+which+may+or+may+not+be+enough+to+live+on+as+they+age.+Under+the+GOPs+big,+beautiful+bill,+as+the+law+is+called,+Republicans+launched+a+new+childrens+savings+program,+Trump+Accounts,+which+can+be+created+for+babies+born+in+the+U.S.+and+come+with+a+potential+1,000+deposit+from+the+Treasury.+Much+like+an+individual+retirement+account,+the+Trump+Accounts+can+grow+over+time,+with+a+post-tax+contribution+limit+of+5,000+a+year,+and+are+expected+to+be+treated+similarly+to+the+rules+for+an+IRA,+and+can+eventually+be+tapped+for+distribution+in+adulthood.+But+Bessent+on+Wednesday+allowed+for+another+rationale+for+the+accounts,+suggesting+they+could+eventually+be+the+way+Americans+save+for+retirement.+In+a+way,+it+is+a+back+door+for+privatizing+Social+Security,+Bessent+said+while+speaking+about+the+program.+The+Treasury+Department+later+issued+a+statement+that+said,+Trump+Accounts+are+an+additive+government+program+that+work+in+conjunction+with+Social+Security+to+broaden+and+increase+the+savings+and+wealth+of+Americans.+Social+Security+is+a+critical+safety+net+for+Americans+and+always+will+be.+Ever+since+the+George+W.+Bush+administration+considered+proposals+to+privatize+Social+Security+more+than+20+years+ago,+Republicans+have+publicly+moved+away+from+talking+about+the+issue+that+proved+politically+unpopular+and+was+swiftly+abandoned.+In+the+run-up+to+the+2006+midterms,+Democrats+capitalized+on+GOP+plans+to+privatize+Social+Security,+warning+it+would+decimate+the+program+that+millions+of+Americans+have+come+to+rely+on+in+older+age.+They+won+back+control+of+both+the+House+and+the+Senate+in+Congress.+The+Democrats+warned+Wednesday+that+Bessents+comments+showed+that+Republicans+want+to+shift+the+government-run+program+to+a+private+one+and+are+again+trying+to+dismantle+the+retirement+program+that+millions+of+Americans+depend+on.+Donald+Trumps+Treasury+Secretary+Scott+Bessent+just+said+the+quiet+part+out+loud:+The+administration+is+scheming+to+privatize+Social+Security,+Tim+Hogan,+a+spokesperson+for+the+Democratic+National+Committee,+said+in+a+statement.+It+wasnt+enough+to+kick+millions+of+people+off+their+health+care+and+take+food+away+from+hungry+kids.+Trump+is+now+coming+after+American+seniors+with+a+backdoor+scam+to+take+away+the+benefits+they+earned,+Hogan+said.+The+Social+Security+program+has+faced+dire+financial+projections+for+decades,+but+changes+have+long+been+politically+unpopular.+Social+Securitys+trust+funds,+which+cover+old+age+and+disability+recipients,+will+be+unable+to+pay+full+benefits+beginning+in+2034,+according+to+the+most+recent+report+from+the+programs+trustees.+Those+officials+have+said+those+findings+underline+the+urgency+of+making+changes+to+programs.+Trump,+attuned+to+Social+Securitys+popularity,+has+repeatedly+said+he+would+protect+it.+Throughout+his+2024+presidential+campaign,+Trump+repeatedly+said+he+would+always+protect+Social+Security+and+said+his+Democratic+opponents,+President+Joe+Biden+and+Vice+President+Kamala+Harris,+would+destroy+the+program.+During+the+2024+primary,+he+accused+other+Republicans+who+have+expressed+support+for+raising+the+age+for+Social+Security+of+being+threats+to+the+program.+Trump+said+in+an+interview+with+NBCs+Meet+the+Press+in+December+after+he+won+the+presidential+election+that+were+not+touching+Social+Security,+other+than+we+might+make+it+more+efficient.+His+White+House+this+year+said+Trump+will+always+protect+Social+Security.+Social+Security+Administration+Commissioner+Frank+Bisignano,+a+Wall+Street+veteran,+was+asked+at+his+confirmation+hearing+in+March+about+whether+Social+Security+should+be+privatized.+He+said+hed+never+heard+a+word+of+it+and+never+thought+about+it.+___+MICHELLE+L.+PRICE+Price+covers+the+White+House.+She+previously+covered+the+2024+presidential+campaign+and+politics,+government+and+other+news+in+New+York,+Nevada,+Utah+and+Arizona.+She+is+based+in+Washington.+twitter+mailto&tbm=nws&source=lnms&fbs=AIIjpHxU7SXXniUZfeShr2fp4giZPH5QghoXViUOqdFyhkUfHhA90f6RZnLvcDKUWyhDavH5940gTgRWqZcPYXMz94JlBZHZtmgnGk05M8XiSDH4LOskkGB0jUixUodGYf1GnMcDDEeZ8Ea9SuSDq4TZCNEPUhc1dGSv8tlYTQvmbqCT0s5wk1Zp1jAHNRpucvM_574vluTKCTY7EBtTxt40TxajG7-O5g&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjukLiVo-iOAxWKjYkEHVlHBrAQ0pQJegQIEBAB&biw=1261&bih=584&dpr=1.27, Link , Link , Link , Link , Link , Link , Link , [Prime Minister Mark Carney is looking after Canada's best interest. He's a tough negotiator & he is wearing Trump out. Our Prime Minister is standing strong while others are bending the knee. Pierre Poilievre's conservatives are demanding that we wave the white flag & surrender.]