Treasury Secretary Bessent not happy about investigation into Powell, conveyed concerns to Trump: Sources
Scott Bessent, US treasury secretary, during an Economic Club of Minnesota event in Golden Valley, Minnesota, US, on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. Bessent called for the Federal Reserve to continue cutting interest rates, extending his pressure campaign on US monetary policymakers. Photographer: Ben Brewer/Bloomberg via Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is not happy with the Justice Department’s criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, multiple sources told ABC News, warning it creates an unnecessary distraction.
Bessent conveyed those concerns directly to President Donald Trump in a call on Sunday, sources said.
Sources added Bessent was not advocating for Powell or questioning the investigation when he spoke to the president, but he did make clear his concerns.
Axios was the first to report the call. The White House has not responded to a request for comment.
When ABC News reached out for comment about the Axios report, a Treasury Department spokesperson said, “There is zero daylight between Secretary Bessent and President Trump, and the ‘sources’ in this story do not speak for the Secretary.”
Powell announced the Justice Department probe in a rare video message on Sunday night. The news sparked backlash from former Federal Reserve and Treasury officials as well as current members of Congress, including several Republicans who typically support the administration’s actions.
The investigation is related to Powell’s testimony last June about the multiyear renovation of the central bank’s buildings in Washington. But Trump has made Powell a frequent target of his attacks and push to cut interest rates, and Powell said he believes the probe is politically motivated.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Monday said Trump has “every right” to criticize Powell’s leadership but said he didn’t direct the Justice Department to investigate.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Abigail Spanberger, governor of Virginia, during an inauguration ceremony at Capitol Square in Richmond, Va., Jan. 17, 2026. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger, a rising star in the Democratic Party who captured the governor’s office last year by a large margin, will deliver the Democrats’ response Tuesday night to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address, focusing on affordability and the chaos she believes the Trump administration has caused at home and abroad, her team told reporters.
Spanberger, who was inaugurated in January after serving three terms in the House of Representatives, will discuss lowering the persistently high costs of housing, health care, energy and groceries despite the administration’s insistence that some of these costs have come down.
The daughter of a law enforcement officer and a nurse, Spanberger focused relentlessly on affordability throughout her 2025 gubernatorial campaign. Despite the economy being the top issue Trump ran on in the 2024 election, it’s been one of the issues he’s struggled with the most during his second term, as Americans still haven’t felt the “Trump boom” they were promised.
In an ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll, 57% of Americans disapprove of how Trump’s handling the economy, and 64% disapproved of how he’s handling tariffs on imported goods.
Spanberger, a former CIA officer, will also address how the Trump administration is contributing to greater worldwide uncertainty.
Trump and his team have spent a large portion of his second term so far focusing on foreign policy, including Trump going head-to-head with some U.S. allies and becoming more aggressive on the world stage. A former federal law enforcement officer who worked on narcotics and money-laundering cases for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Spanberger will also address what critics call the chaos caused by the Trump administration, which continues its immigration enforcement efforts that Americans are seeing in their communities.
She is also expected to challenge Republicans in Congress for not standing up to Trump.
Several Democrats have invited survivors of late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to attend Trump’s address, while others plan to skip the event altogether in protest.
The governor will give her speech live from Colonial Williamsburg, the restored 18th century capital where Virginian representatives voted for its delegation to Congress to propose independence for all 13 colonies from Great Britain, and later adopted the Virginia Declaration of Rights — which influenced the Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights.
There are at least two major counter events that several Democrats plan to attend, including MoveOn’s People’s State of the Union, which is promoting the participation of more than 20 members of Congress; and the “State of the Swamp” event by Defiance.org that features a handful of celebrities appearing by video or in person, such as Robert De Niro.
Spanberger prepared for her remarks by watching speeches other Democrats have delivered in response to Trump’s previous addresses to Congress.
Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., conducts a news conference with members of the Congressional Black Caucus during the House Democrats 2025 Issues Conference at the Lansdowne Resort in Leesburg, Va., on Thursday, March 13, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Rep. Gregory Meeks knows the pivotal role Black men can play in a young person’s life.
“In high school, my [Black] male teacher was Mr. Ozzie and he guided me, you know, through some difficult times and through good times,” Meeks, D-N.Y., told ABC News.
He praised Ozzie for giving him life advice and will never forget how his former teacher inspired him to pursue politics.
“He got me involved in student government at the time,” Meeks said, adding “Without the foundation, I would never be here.”
In interviews with ABC News over the last year, lawmakers across a broad spectrum discussed their relationship with the Black male figures who taught them during their formative years. Having a Black male — and a diverse group of educators — benefits “everyone,” not just Black students, according to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and education experts who spoke with ABC News.
However, less than 2% of all U.S. public school teachers are Black men, according to recent government data. It stems from the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1954 ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, which ended racial segregation in America’s public schools and prompted a massive white resistance to the new law of the land.
Leslie T. Fenwick, author of “Jim Crow’s Pink Slip: The Untold Story of Black Principal and Teacher Leadership,” told ABC News that the resistance — by mostly white Southern politicians — helped cause the shortage of Black male educators, and Black educators as a whole were forced out in droves.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said the latest data on Black male teachers are a “concerning statistic.” Still, the Louisiana native told ABC News that he had “many” Black male teachers over the years.
“One of my favorites was Mr. Tilmer Keels,” Johnson recalled. “He was our band director in middle school. He was such a great inspirational leader,” Johnson added.
Johnson, Meeks and their colleagues overwhelmingly described Black male teachers as supportive, encouraging, and provided positive images for young people.
“They [Black male educators] were very significant for me, and we need more than just one,” Meeks said. “I should be able to talk about three, four, five, six, seven, eight of them,” he added.
Bipartisan appreciation
There’s bipartisan support throughout Congress for these impactful teachers.
Rep. Troy Carter, D-La., said teaching is one of the “most important” careers one can choose. Illinois Democratic Rep. Danny K. Davis, one of the oldest lawmakers on Capitol Hill, said his roles in public service include teaching.
Jonathan L. Jackson’s father, civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson who passed away last week, served as a role model for Black youth across the nation. In the classroom, Jackson said he had at least two Black male teachers throughout high school who he said impacted his worldview.
“People need someone to look up to,” Jackson told ABC News. “That’s why we should be pushing specifically for more African American males in science, education, humanities, histories and all the other good things.”
Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., is also pushing to increase representation in the classroom.
“I’m an advocate for having more male teachers in general, but certainly Black male teachers,” he said, adding, “I think you need a picture of what you want to become in the world.”
Recruitment and retention
Over years of reporting, several Black male educators at public, charter and private pre-K-12 schools have told ABC News that they feel underappreciated and overstretched — with their numbers in the profession already small and appearing to dwindle, according to experts.
Today, 100 years after the first observance of what would become Black History Month, roughly three dozen Black males are serving in Congress. The ones who spoke to ABC News believe Black men deserve a space in the classroom.
Bobby Scott, the top Democrat on the House Education & Workforce Committee who grew up in the segregated South, doesn’t remember ever having a Black male teacher — from elementary school all the way through to when he earned his law degree from Boston College. He noted that teachers and coaches hold an important place in a child’s upbringing, stressing that there should be more Black male educators in schools.
Eric Duncan, the director for preschool-12th grade policy at the nonprofit organization The Education Trust, argued Congress holds the power to bolster the Black male educator through a multitude of levers that would incentivize them to stay in the profession, including scholarships, mortgage assistance, and teacher tax credits.
Duncan, a former social studies teacher, said Black male educators need to feel empowered. Their dismal numbers would improve if the legislative branch keeps level funding for teacher pipeline programs, he said.
“Congress has a role, I think, in continuing to appropriate those funds and continues to keep those programs for the teacher prep programs in the districts that are doing the hard work of trying to recruit and retain Black male educators in their schools,” he said.
“Artificial barriers” impeding progress
The Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education ruling had a crippling impact on the retention of Black male teachers.
More than 70 years after the resistance to the Brown vs. Board of Education ruling, some lawmakers say they feel different factors of the teaching profession keep men out of the classroom, including credentialing and salaries.
Rep. John James, R-Mich., said he wishes there were more avenues for Black men to become teachers but “artificial barriers” are impeding their progress.
“The licensing and certification, the time and the money required, this erects artificial barriers to create mentors and role models, particularly for young Black men who don’t necessarily have that in their life,” James told ABC News.
Last session, multiple teacher salary bills introduced in the House and Senate never received a vote. Freshman Rep. Shomari Figures, D-Ala. said Congress has a collective obligation to address the problem.
“The salary piece of it is certainly a big thing, but we also got to get real about, you know, conditions in schools,” Figures said.
“How are we making the environment the best suitable for teachers to want to stay and remain in the classroom long term?”
U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth provides updates on military operations in Iran during a press briefing at the Pentagon on March 19, 2026 in Arlington, Virginia. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday that the Pentagon will be asking Congress for more money to cover the Iran war, saying he wants to ensure current and future costs are covered “above and beyond.”
A senior administration official confirmed that a $200 billion request was sent from the Pentagon to the White House on Wednesday. The Washington Post first reported the request.
It was not clear whether the White House had formally submitted the request to Congress as of Thursday morning or what kind of reception it would have among lawmakers, who remain deeply divided on President Donald Trump’s decision to attack Iran.
The conflict began Feb. 28 after negotiations on its nuclear and ballistic missile program failed, and the U.S. and Israel launched joint strikes. In its third week, the U.S. says it’s destroyed more than 7,800 military targets, 120 Iranian ships and 11 submarines.
Pentagon officials told a group of senators in a closed-door briefing earlier this month that the war in Iran cost at least $11.3 billion in its first six days.
When asked about the $200 billion request, Hegseth didn’t confirm the total, saying that the number “could move.”
“As far as $200 billion, I think that number could move. Obviously it takes, it takes money to kill bad guys,” Hegseth said in a news conference Thursday morning. “So we’re going back to Congress and our folks there to ensure that we’re properly funded for what’s been done, for what we may have to do in the future, ensure that our ammunition is — everything’s refilled, and not just refilled, but above and beyond.”
Wartime supplementals are used to ensure the military remains ready to handle other potential conflicts and to replenish stockpiles spent on the ongoing mission.
Asked about the $200 billion request on Thursday, Trump said “we’re asking for a lot of reasons beyond even what we’re talking about in Iran.”
“So we’re in very good shape, but we want to be in the best shape. The best shape we’ve ever been in,” Trump said.
House leadership has not received a formal defense supplemental request from the Trump administration, according to a source familiar with the details.
Asked about the amount, Speaker Mike Johnson said Congress has a commitment to “adequately fund defense.”
“I’m sure it’s not a random number, so we’ll look at that,” Johnson said Thursday morning. “But obviously it’s a dangerous time in the world, and we have to adequately fund defense, and we have a commitment to do that.”
As of Wednesday night, several Senate appropriators, including Appropriations Chair Susan Collins, said they had not yet seen the request.
Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations committee, said she had not seen the funding request, and would need details to be provided.
“We have not seen that request, and I will tell you that this administration needs to tell Congress definitely what they’re doing and how long this is going to take. There is no goal here, and we’re not going to write them a blank check,” Murray said.
Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who is on the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, told reporters on Thursday morning that to her knowledge the Pentagon has not made a request to Congress.
“What we have is a number that we have heard the White House presented to the Pentagon. So far as I know it has not been presented to us in Congress. So it needs to not only be presented, the amount, but also the rationale behind it,” Murkowski said.
The money that has so far been spent to fund operations in Iran comes out of Pentagon funds already allocated by Congress. Congress has not yet approved any additional funding for the war with Iran.
The funding request also indicates plans for a longer war — after Trump has previously said the war would last four to five weeks. The president has also brushed off that timeline, saying “whatever it takes.”
ABC News’ Lauren Peller contributed to this report.
