While President Donald Trump was spending his Monday evening addressing House Republicans at their annual retreat in Doral, Florida, his nominee for Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, was being voted on by the Senate. 

This vote wasn't as suspenseful as the vote to confirm Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense, which squeaked by at 51-50 Friday evening. In contrast, Bessent secured confirmation with a vote of 68 to 29. 

Bessent wasn't without his detractors, however. Bessent's hearing before the Senate Finance Committee included tough questioning from the Democrats on the committee. And, ahead of Monday's vote, several Democrat senators opposing his confirmation insisted that Bessent hadn't paid his taxes. 

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Top Dem on Senate Finace Cmte Wyden on Bessent/Treasury Secretary nomination: Mr. Bessent has avoided paying almost $1 million in the three years of tax returns. Now, the Treasury Department says what Mr. Bessent is doing is a violation of the law. The IRS has gone to court twice…

— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) January 27, 2025

Top Dem on Senate Finace Cmte Wyden on Bessent/Treasury Secretary nomination: Mr. Bessent has avoided paying almost $1 million in the three years of tax returns. Now, the Treasury Department says what Mr. Bessent is doing is a violation of the law. The IRS has gone to court twice to close this loophole. It won both times. We raised this with Mr. Bessent and urged him to pay what he owes. He said no, he's just going to wait out the appeals process. So if Mr. Bessent is confirmed the day that he's sworn in, the Treasury secretary will be in violation of Treasury policy. Let me repeat that, Madame President. If Mr. Bessent is confirmed the day that he is sworn in, we will have a Treasury secretary who is in violation of Treasury policy. It is an absurd double standard to maintain for the benefit of one individual with immense power.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) made similar accusations when it was her turn at the podium. 

However, Banking Committee Chair Mike Crapo pushed back on those assertions.

Banking Cmte Chair Crapo on Treasury Secretary nominee Bessent: Contrary to what you've heard, he provided extensive supporting material for all of the attacks on him, including more than 3000 pages worth. And he and his staff spent countless hours with Republican and Democrat…

— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) January 27, 2025

Banking Cmte Chair Crapo on Treasury Secretary nominee Bessent: Contrary to what you've heard, he provided extensive supporting material for all of the attacks on him, including more than 3000 pages worth. And he and his staff spent countless hours with Republican and Democrat Senate Finance Committee members and staff, going over all of these allegations and all of these claimed failures to pay tax, to pay taxes. He's gone further by not only divesting all of his business ties, which is no small task, but by publicly committing that if there is any change in the law in the future on these policy arguments, that he would comply with those changes in the law. But let me state this again as clearly as it can be said, Scott Bessent paid his taxes. I've heard it said twice on this floor that he did not pay his taxes. Experts have gone over his tax returns and he has complied with standard prevailing  interpretations of the tax code every time.

Opposition notwithstanding, Bessent garnered bipartisan support — with 16 Democrats voting in favor of his confirmation — and now becomes the fifth member of Trump's cabinet confirmed, with the vote on Sean Duffy as Transportation Secretary expected to come as early as Tuesday, as the cloture motion on his nomination passed shortly after the vote on Bessent.