← Videos · Economy, Tariffs & Trade

Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent Briefs Members of the Media, May 28, 2026

May 28, 2026 · The White House · 0:31:49

Embedded from the source channel — never re-uploaded. Watch on YouTube

What happened

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent briefed members of the media at the White House on May 28, 2026, opening with Trump Accounts: “Trump accounts, I believe, are the most important benefit for young people since the GI bill. Today, the app is now available on all major platforms, bringing the president’s vision directly to American homes. Nearly 6 million American children have been signed up for Trump accounts, which will launch on July 4th.”

He then ran the administration’s tax-season figures as he stated them: the average refund this filing season is “nearly $3,300, an 11% increase from last year,” and of 62 million returns, 44% claimed at least one of the President’s signature tax cuts — no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, reduced taxes on Social Security benefits, and auto-loan deductibility for American cars. On the wider economy he cited real GDP growth of 2.6% over the past four quarters, an Atlanta Fed GDPNow prediction of 3.8% for the second quarter, an average 401(k) up “almost $30,000 since President Trump’s inauguration,” more than $600 million saved through TrumpRx as he stated it, and an unemployment rate of 4.3%.

Why it matters

Bessent is the Treasury’s public face for the two signature household-finance programs this chronicle tracks on the Economy hub — Trump Accounts and the enacted tax cuts — and this briefing is his dated status report on both: sign-ups counted before the July 4 launch, and the first filing season under the new cuts scored by the Secretary himself.

Scoreboard watch

This is a candidate item for the weekly scoreboard: nearly 6 million Trump Accounts sign-ups, the ~$3,300 average refund (+11%), and the 44%-of-returns figure — each as stated by Secretary Bessent, checkable against Treasury and IRS filing-season statistics as they publish.

Sources: The White House, “Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent Briefs Members of the Media, May 28, 2026,” The White House, May 28, 2026 (official upload, embedded above). All figures and characterizations as stated by Secretary Bessent at the briefing.