White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked to clarify what Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent meant when he said the new so-called Trump savings accounts for newborns could be a “back door” to start privatizing Social Security.
Bessent has since tried to walk the comments back.
“What the secretary of treasury was saying, and what this administration believes, is that these Trump newborn accounts, which is an incredibly creative and great provision that was in the one big, beautiful bill for newborn babies and families and future generations of Americans, will help supplement not substitute Social Security,” Leavitt said.
“The Trump administration is wholeheartedly committed to protecting Social Security. The president did it in his first term. He’s doing it again in this term. But these newborn accounts are another revenue stream for young people, to watch their money grow throughout their lives and to one day be able to access those funds so they can hopefully build a home and live the American dream,” she added.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks during a press briefing in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, July 31, 2025, in Washington.
Mark Schiefelbein/AP
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