TODAY: Trump’s Billionaire Cabinet Picks Want to Give Themselves Another Round of Special Favors and Tax Handouts Arrow

In response to several of Donald Trump's billionaire Cabinet nominees kicking off their hearings on Capitol Hill today, DNC Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd released the following statement:

"Donald Trump's billionaire Cabinet picks aren't focused on what's best for the middle class - just what's best for their own bottom lines. On the campaign trail, Trump promised his billionaire donors new handouts and special favors for campaign cash, and now those same ultra-wealthy backers are cashing in and planning to stick working families with the bill. Democrats are ready to stand up against Trump and his billionaire Cabinet picks' out-of-touch, unpopular agenda that will line the pockets of Wall Street, not Main Street."

Today, Donald Trump's Wall Street billionaire Treasury Secretary pick Scott Bessent is on the Hill for his confirmation hearing - and ready to push Trump's extreme Project 2025 economic agenda to rig the economy for the ultra-wealthy.

CNN: "Trump offers billionaire Scott Bessent Treasury secretary role, sources say."

Washington Post: "'Dancing in the street': Some Wall Street banks are triumphant heading into Trump era"

"'The nation's biggest banks have just in the past few weeks notched some major wins in Washington, as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office, promising even less regulation.' …

"Consumer advocates say delays to tougher rules in the weeks after Trump's win don't bode well for consumer protection or financial stability. They also say Trump is likely to return to a practice of filling top positions with Wall Street executives. …

"Now, Trump officials who will have a say on how any future capital plans are crafted are expected to push for a revamped approach that could entail a much smaller capital increase for big banks, potentially saving the firms billions."

US News: "As a money manager, Scott Bessent's years of inconsistent performance have contributed to a nearly 90% decline in his hedge fund's assets. Now, with some clients gone, he is scoring on perhaps his biggest bet yet: President-elect Donald Trump."

Trump's Interior Secretary pick Doug Burgum also has a long record pushing Trump's failed MAGAnomics agenda of putting ultra-wealthy people like him and big corporations ahead of working families.

Burgum: "Our state has built a strong and growing economy on reducing individual and corporate income tax rates, common-sense regulations and a business-friendly environment, and this federal tax reform legislation - combined with the Trump administration's tremendous progress in rolling back burdensome regulations - will spread those principles nationwide."

Burgum: "His policies are all in the right direction. If you're a billionaire … you should be voting for [Trump]."

CNBC: "Trump VP prospect Doug Burgum and GOP megadonor Harold Hamm are allies in business and politics"

Doug Burgum: "I believe in these economic policies, I believe the tax bill is a great thing."

Washington Post: "Trump makes sweeping promises to donors on audacious fundraising tour"

"As he closed his pitch at the Pierre Hotel, Trump explained to the group why it was in their interest to cut large checks. If he was not put back in office, taxes would go up for them under President Biden, who vows to let Trump-era tax cuts on the wealthy and corporations expire at the end of 2025.

"Seconds after promising the tax cuts, Trump made his pitch explicit. 'So whatever you guys can do, I appreciate it,' he said."

The Guardian: "Donald Trump's $1.5tn tax cuts have helped billionaires pay a lower rate than the working class for the first time in history."

Bismarck Tribune: "Gov. Doug Burgum accepted more than $100,000 in campaign contributions from oil company executives last fall, despite comments he made as a candidate that accepting donations from the oil industry would be a conflict of interest."

Associated Press: "Big Oil is big funder of Burgum inaugural"

Trump and his billionaire Cabinet picks want to gift tax breaks to the ultra-rich and big corporations while causing an "inflation bomb" as part of their Project 2025 agenda.

Axios: "16 Nobel economists see a Trump inflation bomb"

"Sixteen Nobel prize-winning economists are jumping into the presidential campaign with a stark warning: Former President Trump's plans would reignite inflation and cause lasting harm to the global economy if he wins in November."

Axios: "Trump's inflation bomb: How his second-term plans could make it worse"

The Atlantic: "Trump's Plan to Supercharge Inflation"

Wall Street Journal: "A drumbeat of reports from Wall Street economists have warned that Trump's plans could substantially slow economic growth while driving up consumer prices."

Washington Post: "Trump and his advisers have discussed deeper cuts to both individual and corporate tax rates that would build on his controversial 2017 tax law … Further cutting corporate taxes … would primarily benefit large firms."

Center for American Progress: "Project 2025's Tax Plan Would Raise Taxes on the Middle Class and Cut Taxes for the Wealthy"

CBS News: "Millions of low- and middle-class households would likely face significantly higher taxes under the Project 2025's proposals."

Donald Trump spent the campaign repeatedly promising his ultra-wealthy backers political favors while begging for campaign cash.

Washington Post: "Trump makes sweeping promises to donors on audacious fundraising tour"

"Trump sometimes makes requests higher than his team expects to receive, sometimes surprising his own advisers because he is asking for so much money. By frequently tying the fundraising requests within seconds of promises of tax cuts, oil project infrastructure approvals and other favorable policies and asking for sums more than his campaign and the GOP can legally accept from an individual, Trump is also testing the boundaries of federal campaign finance laws, according to legal experts.

"In one recent meeting staged by his Save America super PAC, Trump asked oil industry executives to raise $1 billion for his campaign and said raising such a sum would be a 'deal' given how much money they would save if he were reelected as president.

"Trump has met with an assortment of real estate, legal, finance, oil and other business executives in recent months, according to people familiar with invitation lists. He has often promised agenda items they would like passed as part of his broader fundraising pitch, and sometimes has asked allies to bundle millions or more, according to people close to the former president."

Trump's utter failure of an economic record put working people last by rigging the economy for billionaires, skyrocketing the deficit, and creating new incentives for companies to ship jobs overseas.

Washington Post: "For the first time in history, U.S. billionaires paid a lower tax rate than the working class last year"

The Guardian: "Donald Trump's $1.5tn tax cuts have helped billionaires pay a lower rate than the working class for the first time in history."

Economic Policy Institute: "The TCJA overwhelmingly benefited the rich and corporations while overlooking working families"

Vox: "Trump said this tax break was for small businesses. It's giving $17 billion to millionaires this year"

New York Times: "The 2017 corporate tax cuts signed into law by Mr. Trump have not increased government revenue … In fact, they have had the opposite effect."

CBS News: "Two years after Trump tax cuts, middle-class Americans are falling behind"

Bloomberg: "The Offshoring of U.S. Jobs Increased on Trump's Watch"

Washington Post: "Trump promised 'America First' would keep jobs here. But the tax plan might push them overseas."

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