Trump’s Treasuries Remark Was on Payments, Not Debt, Hassett Says

President Donald Trump’s weekend comments regarding irregularities in Treasury payments were a reference to billionaire Elon Musk’s claims that the government had made improper transfers to contractors and grant recipients — not an expression of concern about payments to bondholders, the president’s top economic adviser said Monday.

“The Treasury secretary has found that the controls for spending of the previous administration were unacceptable, that they were sending money out without knowing where the money was going,” National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said during an interview with CNBC. “They were sending money out without flagging what it was for.”