Trump’s US Treasury pick says question of debt limit repeal is ‘nuanced’

(Reuters) – Scott Bessent, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to head the Treasury Department, on Thursday said the question of eliminating the U.S. debt limit is “nuanced,” but said if Trump wants to do so he will work with him and with Congress to get it done.

“The debt limit is a very nuanced convention,” Bessent told the U.S. Senate Finance Committee in response to a question from U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren about whether he would support its repeal. “Look, the United States is not going to default on its debt if I’m confirmed. But I will tell you that, for people who don’t understand the debt limit, it might be like taking out your handbrake in your car, that you can still hit the brakes, but it’s one less feature.”