Treasury Secretary Bessent Taunts Elizabeth Warren With 'Indigenous Peoples’ Day' Jab

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has responded to a recent letter from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) with a handwritten note wishing her a “Happy Indigenous Peoples’ Day” in advance, a move seen as a pointed jab at Warren’s past claims of Native American heritage.

Bessent's communication, first reported by Fox Business Network, also targeted Warren's prolific letter-writing campaign. His team stated that Warren has sent over 100 letters to Bessent since the start of the second Trump administration. Bessent noted that Warren's latest correspondence, dated Oct. 10, demanded answers on the Treasury Department's efforts to reduce borrowing costs for the public.

In remarks on “Fox and Friends” on Sunday, Bessent characterized Warren's letters as often “embarrassing” and accused her of being “economically illiterate.” He pointed to instances where he believes she has confused financial terms, such as a currency swap with a currency intervention, and noted that the Treasury has been engaged in bond market interventions since 2024.

“The shocking thing here is that she is the ranking member on the Senate Banking Committee, and she is on Senate Finance,” Bessent said.

Warren, a progressive senator, has faced scrutiny over her claims of Native American ancestry, which have been complicated by DNA tests. A 1984 cookbook she authored identified her as Cherokee, and she listed herself as “Native American” on a State Bar of Texas survey two years later. Harvard Law School also identified her as Native American on federal paperwork between 1995 and 2004.

A genetic analysis by Stanford University professor Carlos Bustamante suggested a Native American ancestor in the range of six to ten generations ago, estimating her Native American heritage to be between 1/64th and 1/1,024th, with approximately 95% of her genome being European. Some geneticists have questioned the reliability of such tests due to limitations in Native American data within genetic databases.

Warren apologized to the Cherokee Nation in early 2019 for her claims. This issue was previously highlighted by then-President Donald Trump, who frequently referred to her as “Pocahontas” and offered a $1 million donation to a charity of her choice if she took a DNA test to substantiate her claims.

In her letter to Bessent, Warren had written, “The surge in Treasury yields is self-inflicted and follows the Fed’s decision to raise the federal funds rate by a quarter of a percentage point, driven by concerns about inflation.” The 30-year Treasury yield reached its highest level since 2004 in the preceding month.

Bessent pushed back against Warren's assessment, stating in his response, “It is difficult to treat your concern as sincere. As the federal funds rate climbed from near zero to its highest level in 22 years, with inflation hitting a 40-year high, you were a cheerleader for the Biden Administration’s reckless spending.” He also offered Warren what he called a “Foreign Exchange for Dummies tutorial.”

Warren's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Post.