US Treasury chief invokes own assassination attempt to rebuff critics of far-left threat

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he was the target of an assassination attempt by a "left-wing activist" shortly after taking office, using the incident to defend the Trump administration's intensified focus on violent far-left extremism and the financial networks that support it.

Speaking at the State Department's Ministerial on the Resurgence of Political Terrorism on July 16, Bessent rejected criticism that the administration has overstated the threat posed by violent left-wing groups, Fox News reports.

"I'm going to remind everyone in this room — and all the media — that I was the subject of an assassination attempt by an addled left-wing activist two hours after being sworn into my job," Bessent said. "Any of you who want to report that this is a fiction and does not exist, be there for the sentencing this August."

Bessent appeared to be referring to Ryan Michael English, a 24-year-old Massachusetts man who pleaded guilty in March to charges linked to an attempt to assassinate the then-Treasury secretary nominee at the U.S. Capitol. According to the Justice Department, English traveled to Washington on Jan. 27, 2025, carrying a folding knife and two improvised Molotov cocktails before approaching Capitol Police officers and surrendering. Prosecutors said he admitted intending to kill a Cabinet nominee or set fire to a Washington think tank. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 14.

Arguing that extremist violence depends on financial backing, Bessent said, "Violence requires money, channels through which funding can move, and institutions behind which it can hide."

He announced that the Treasury Department is expanding efforts to identify charities and nonprofit organizations allegedly used to finance political terrorism.

"At President Trump's direction, Treasury is expanding its efforts to identify organizations that abuse charitable and nonprofit structures as vehicles for illicit finance," Bessent said, adding that officials are investigating whether tax-exempt entities have served as "financial conduits for foreign-influence activity" or facilitated political violence.

Bessent said the initiative would rely on the Treasury's financial enforcement authorities, including the Office of Foreign Assets Control and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, as the administration seeks to disrupt the financial infrastructure supporting violent far-left extremist groups. His remarks came during a State Department summit attended by representatives from about 65 countries aimed at strengthening international cooperation against political terrorism.

By Vafa Guliyeva