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.”

UPS and FedEx said on Friday they have grounded their combined fleet of more than 50 McDonnell Douglas MD-11 cargo planes following a crash in Louisville, Kentucky this week that killed at least 14 people.

A UPS MD-11 crashed late on Tuesday, erupting into a fireball moments after takeoff from Louisville’s international airport. The death toll from the crash, the cause of which is still under investigation, has risen to 14, according to a post on X by Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg on Friday.

UPS and FedEx, the world’s largest cargo carriers, said in separate statements that they grounded the aircraft “out of an abundance of caution.”

FedEx said it operates 28 MD-11s and, according to a UPS factsheet, UPS had 27 in its fleet prior to the crash.

“We made this decision proactively at the recommendation of the aircraft manufacturer,” UPS said in its statement.

Boeing, which acquired the MD-11 program through its 1997 merger with McDonnell Douglas, said in an emailed statement it recommended that UPS and FedEx suspend flight operations of the MD-11 freighter.

“This recommendation was made in an abundance of caution and we will continue coordinating with the FAA on this matter,” a Boeing spokesperson said.

Production of the MD-11 planes ended in 2000, and passenger service officially ended in 2014.

FedEx, which has a total fleet of 700 aircraft, said it was “immediately implementing contingency plans” to avoid disruptions. UPS said that its MD-11s account for only 9% of its fleet.

Still, any potential disruptions could have far-reaching consequences as FedEx and UPS are the workhorses for transferring goods around the world for major retailers like Amazon.com, Walmart, and Target, as well as for manufacturers and businesses.

UPS is the No. 1 air cargo service provider for the U.S. Postal Service, transporting Priority and other speedy mail products.

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board is leading the probe into the crash of the 34-year-old MD-11 freighter at the Louisville airport. The plane reached about 100 feet (30.5 meters) above ground level before plunging in flames off the runway and destroying two nearby businesses.

One of the plane’s three engines detached from the left wing as it rolled down the Louisville airport runway.

On Friday, U.S. safety investigators said that as a warning bell sounded in the cockpit, three UPS pilots had tried to wrestle control of the plane just before it crashed.

While UPS flight 2976 began uneventfully, a repeating bell was heard on the aircraft’s cockpit voice recorder just 37 seconds after the crew called for takeoff thrust, NTSB member Todd Inman told reporters.

NTSB anticipates issuing a preliminary investigation report into the crash in about 30 days.

The last UPS cargo plane to crash was in August 2013, when an Airbus aircraft went down on a landing approach to the international airport in Birmingham, Alabama, killing both crew members.

(Reporting by Rishabh Jaiswal and Dheeraj Kumar in Bengaluru and Joe Brock in Los Angeles; Editing by William Mallard, Thomas Derpinghaus and Himani Sarkar)