Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent flipped the script on Democratic adviser-turned-ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos during a Sunday morning interview, reminding him of what he’d said about the government shutdowns that took place in 1995 when his old boss, former President Bill Clinton, had been at odds with a Republican-controlled Congress led by then House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA).
Bessent joined Stephanopoulos to talk about the ongoing shutdown — driven by Democrat demands for a blanket extension of 2022 Obamacare subsidies that were designed to assist with shortfalls due to the COVID-19 pandemic and then sunset after three years — and the conversation centered on how best to bring an end to the shutdown that has now lasted nearly 40 days.
WATCH:
When @SecScottBessent reminded George Stephanopoulos “you were involved in a lot of these in the ’90s. And you basically called the Republicans terrorists and, you know, you said that it is not the responsible party that keeps the government closed,” Stephanopoulos tried to shut… pic.twitter.com/LhcfQ2KHq9
— Brent Baker 🇺🇲🇺🇦 🇮🇱 (@BrentHBaker) November 9, 2025
“The president continues to post about ending the filibuster,” Stephanopoulos began. “Is that the best way to end this shutdown right now? Is that what the administration position is?”
“No, George, the best way to do it — and look, you were involved in a lot of these in the ’90s. And you basically called the Republicans terrorists and, you know, you said that it is not the responsible party that keeps the government closed,” Bessent replied. “And so what we need is five brave moderate Democratic Senators to cross the aisle, because right now it is 52 to three — 52 to three — five Democrats can cross the aisle and reopen the government. That’s the best way to do it, George.”
“I can disagree with you about the history there,” Stephanopoulos said with a half smile. “We don’t have to get into a history lesson right now —”
“George —” Bessent tried to push back.
“Let’s talk about —” Stephanopoulos interrupted. “Let’s talk about what’s happening right now.”
“If you want, I’ve got all your quotes here,” Bessent offered.
“I’m sure you do, but let’s talk about the situation —” Stephanopoulos tried again.
“I read your book, so you got one purchase on Amazon this week,” Bessent quipped. “And that’s very much what you said.”
“That’s a mischaracterization of history,” Stephaopoulos claimed.
However, during a PBS interview conducted in the summer of 2000, Stephanopoulos used almost the exact words quoted by Bessent to describe the White House’s strategy — of which he was an integral part — to fight congressional Republicans during the 1995 government shutdowns that lasted five days (November 14-19) and 21 days (December 16, 1995-January 6, 1996) respectively.
The question presented to Stephanopoulos was a simple one: “In the fall of 1995, the government shutdown is dominating the government at this time. The president is doing some real brinkmanship. What was the strategy with the Republicans in the fall of 1995?”
“Our strategy was very simple,” Stephanopoulos replied. “We couldn’t buckle, and we had to say that they were blackmailing the country to get their way. In order to get their tax cut, they were willing to shut down the government, throw the country into default for the first time in its history and cut Medicare, Social Security, education and the environment just so they could get their way. And we were trying to say that they were basically terrorists, and it worked.”