This week’s Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan covered economic policy, a Treasury investigation into Minnesota welfare fraud, U.S. strikes at sea, and changes to federal vaccine advisory practices.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on the economy and affordability
– Bessent described the holiday season as strong and said headline inflation has come down, with remaining price pressure concentrated in services rather than imported goods. He said real incomes are up about 1% and framed the administration’s approach to affordability around incomes, immigration policy, interest rates and continued work on inflation. He blamed “embedded” inflation on the prior administration’s policies.
– On tariffs and consumer items, Bessent noted imported-goods inflation is lower than overall inflation and reiterated that services are the dominant driver of current price pressures. He said the administration is focused on measures that affect incomes and costs for households.
– Regarding grocery and beef prices, Bessent defended market interventions and the president’s decision to investigate potential price-gouging, arguing prior efforts were not properly executed and saying the current approach is different.
– On agriculture and China trade, he said soybean prices rose after a negotiated purchase cadence and that trade certainty—12.5 million metric tons this year with 25 million metric tons annually afterward—should help farmers. He acknowledged some producers will get bridge payments because the timing of Chinese purchases left farmers short of near-term cash.
– Bessent outlined a proposal nicknamed “Trump accounts”: Treasury-managed, diversified investment accounts for U.S.-born children seeded with $1,000 for births in 2025–2028, portable at age 18 or convertible into retirement-style accounts. He said philanthropists could contribute and that more details would come ahead of a July rollout.
– On the Minnesota welfare fraud probe, he said IRS Criminal Investigations uncovered large-scale fraud and that stolen funds have been traced through wire-transfer organizations, possibly to the Middle East and Somalia. He said investigations are ongoing, that the Treasury is tracking money flows, and that officials are not yet alleging links to terrorism. Bessent criticized Rep. Ilhan Omar for what he characterized as downplaying the fraud.
Rep. Ilhan Omar on deportations, fraud and rhetoric
– Rep. Omar pushed back on suggestions tying donors or campaign contributors to the fraud, saying she returned donations once she learned of involvement and had requested investigations earlier. She emphasized that Somali Minnesotans are taxpayers and full members of the community.
– Acknowledging the scale of the fraud, which federal prosecutors have called the nation’s largest COVID-era welfare fraud scheme, Omar said she had urged oversight and asked where safeguards failed. She said the community is angry about the theft of funds meant to help residents.
– Omar criticized dehumanizing rhetoric from the administration, warning it can inspire violence and noting most Somalis in Minnesota are citizens who contribute to the state. On recent ICE actions, she said many targeted individuals already had removal orders and were not undocumented, rejecting broad blame of the community.
Rep. Jim Himes on U.S. strikes against suspected drug boats
– Rep. Jim Himes, who viewed classified footage of Sept. 2 Caribbean strikes, argued the video should be made public so Americans can see what occurred. He said views among lawmakers split largely along party lines and said he was deeply troubled by footage of lethal force used against people who appeared to be outside of combat.
– Himes drew a distinction between strikes on armed militants and actions affecting people clinging to debris or incapacitated at sea, saying legal justification depends on whether targets were engaged in combat. He disputed some public explanations from the administration and defense officials, saying official explanations shifted and that transparency is needed.
– He raised concerns that the strikes resembled “signature strikes” against suspected drug runners conducted without a specific congressional authorization, and questioned whether naval resources were being applied to low-level operatives rather than trafficker leadership. He also warned that sharing sensitive operational details improperly can endanger missions.
Dr. Scott Gottlieb on vaccine policy and advisory panels
– Former FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb criticized a vote by the CDC advisory panel ACIP to delay the routine hepatitis B birth dose to two months in many cases. He explained that the newborn dose given within 24 hours of birth historically prevents transmission at delivery and substantially reduces chronic hepatitis B and its long-term risks. He cited modeling suggesting that delaying the dose could lead to additional infections and deaths.
– Gottlieb warned that recent personnel changes to ACIP, made by the health secretary, have left the panel with members he described as more skeptical of vaccines, risking erosion of the panel’s credibility. He predicted some states and insurers might decouple from ACIP guidance and instead follow professional groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics.
– He also criticized proposed FDA shifts that could require more data for vaccine approvals—moving away from approaches such as immunobridging—which he said would slow seasonal and updated vaccine development and deployment. He urged greater transparency around safety case adjudications and public release of the case-level data the agency reviewed.
Other notes
– The program previewed a 60 Minutes interview with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and listed the week’s guests: Scott Bessent, Rep. Ilhan Omar, Rep. Jim Himes and Dr. Scott Gottlieb.
Overall themes
– The episode focused on affordability and inflation dynamics, relief and trade certainty for farmers, a new child savings account proposal, an ongoing Treasury probe into large-scale welfare fraud and its impact on Somali communities, legal and ethical questions about U.S. maritime strikes, and contentious changes to federal vaccine advisory practices and regulatory approaches.