Bessant says Newsom's pledge to tax payouts from anti-weaponization fund at 100% is 'stupid'

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant on Thursday blasted California Gov. Gavin Newsom's pledge to tax anyone in his state who receives funds from President Trump's newly-launched anti-government weaponization fund at 100% as "stupid" during a press conference at the White House.

In exchange for dropping his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS for having illegally leaked his tax returns in a bid to derail his presidency during his first term, the IRS and Justice Department last week announced a new $1.776 billion anti-weaponization fund. The fund can be tapped into by American citizens who are targeted by the government with lawfare and other types of criminal prosecution for political reasons. Americans who have been "badly abused by an evil, corrupt, and weaponized Biden Administration" could seek restitution, Trump said. 

“Anyone from California that receives any of those funds, we want to tax 100 percent of those proceeds," Newsom said during a press conference on Wednesday. He falsely described the new measure as a "slush fund." According to Politico, several other Democrats around the country are rushing to pass legislation that would do the same in their locales.

"President Trump is a great American who has endured more than 10 years of non-stop harassment and weaponization from federal state government actors," Bessant said, adding that an IRS employee leaked hundreds of thousands of tax returns, including the Trump family's returns. "No American should be targeted for political reasons."

When asked for a response to Newsom's plan for a 100% tax on any payouts from the anti-weaponization fund, Bessant said, "There's no cure for stupid." Watch Bessant's remark below.