Ethics Watchdog Says Treasury Secretary Bessent Failed to Divest Conflicting Assets

The Office of Government Ethics notified the Senate Finance Committee in August 2025 that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had failed to timely comply with terms of the ethics agreement he signed before taking office, missing an April 28 deadline to divest roughly two dozen assets. Bessent, a billionaire financier, retained holdings including up to $25 million in North Dakota farmland generating rental income tied to crops affected by his own department's trade and tariff decisions.

The finding matters because Bessent has been directly involved in trade negotiations, including with China, that affect the value of commodities from which he personally profits, the exact kind of overlap conflict-of-interest rules are meant to prevent. The Treasury Department described the delay as related to illiquid assets that were not readily marketable, while watchdog groups including the Campaign Legal Center called for formal investigations.

Bessent said he had completed all but a small percentage of the required divestitures and pledged to finish by year's end. He later stated in December 2025 that he had divested the farmland at issue.