Negotiating with Democrats to Save Affordable Health Care
BAILING OUT FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS.
Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, released a fact sheet on day 17 of the Trump-Republican shutdown—which Trump and Republicans initiated because of their refusal to negotiate with Democrats to protect health care for millions of Americans. Today’s fact sheet highlights the Administration’s deal to bail out the government of Argentina, which Congresswoman Waters immediately blasted.
As of today, the United States government continues with its third week of the Trump-Republican government shutdown. Already, millions of hard-working federal government employees are missing their paychecks, and many are being forced to work without pay. In fact, some may be out of work permanently after the Administration moved cruelly and unlawfully to implement mass layoffs.
American families are struggling to pay their bills as the shutdown drags on. They are also watching their health care premiums skyrocket. Meanwhile, Trump can’t be bothered to sit down with Democratic lawmakers to resolve this Trump-Republican shutdown and restore affordable health care. Instead, he’s prioritized a foreign financial bailout that may cost taxpayers billions of dollars.
Why is the United States Government Bailing Out Argentina?
To date, little is known about the actions and agreements the Trump Administration has taken to bailout Argentina. Congress has yet to be briefed by the Treasury Department or provided with any specific details on the terms, conditions, or parameters of the financial assistance being extended to Argentina, or what impact it will have on U.S. taxpayers. But here’s what we do know. On October 9, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced through a post on the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) that Treasury “directly purchased Argentine pesos,” and “finalized a $20 billion currency swap framework with Argentina’s central bank.” Bessent continued, “The U.S. Treasury is prepared, immediately, to take whatever exceptional measures are warranted to provide stability to markets.” On October 14, instead of meeting with Congressional Democrats to negotiate an end to the government shutdown and resolve the health care affordability crisis caused by Trump, the President decided to have lunch with Argentina’s President Javier Milei to presumably formalize that agreement.
To make matters worse, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on October 15 that the initial bailout plans may not be enough, and that the United States has continued to buy Argentine pesos and is looking into arranging an additional $20 billion lifeline for Argentina, funded by U.S. banks and sovereign wealth funds. Reportedly, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, and Citigroup are some of the financial institutions in these discussions. Where’s all this dealmaking energy for the people right here in the United States suffering from the Trump-Republican shutdown?
Is This a Risk to the US Taxpayer?
Yes, most definitely. Argentina has a history of financial instability, including repeatedly defaulting on its sovereign debt and repeated cycles of hyperinflation and currency devaluation. Argentina has also been the largest borrower from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), with them securing $20 billion earlier this year when they ran into more financial troubles, though that agreement required a special waiver. Meanwhile, Argentina's President Javier Milei was elected in 2023 and advanced very aggressive and deeply unpopular fiscal reforms, sparking a backlash. The country is currently facing a peso falling in value, foreign reserves being depleted, and market panic, leading to the Trump Administration’s intervention in the crisis. The peso has dropped for three straight days, likely resulting in losses to the U.S. taxpayer.
What’s This Really About?
In reality, Trump’s bailout of Argentina appears to be nothing more than a political scheme to prop up his MAGA ally, President Milei and his party ahead of a midterm legislative election on October 26, and ensure he can continue pushing his pro-Trump and MAGA messaging throughout Latin America. This isn’t about helping the people of Argentina—it’s about spreading Donald Trump’s MAGA agenda across the globe.
Trump said as much himself: “If he [President Milei] loses, we are not going to be generous with Argentina.”
He continued: “I think he’s going to win,” Mr. Trump added. “And if he wins, we’re staying with him, and if he doesn’t win, we’re gone.”
But it’s not just the MAGA-political movement that stands to benefit from this bailout. According to news reports, so too, could major, wealthy hedge funds including those led by friends of Trump and Secretary Bessent. In fact, investors who previously worked with Mr. Bessent years ago could receive a windfall from the Administration’s actions.
It is beyond the pale that Trump refuses to address the rising costs of millions of Americans’ health care even as he spends tens of billions of dollars to bailout Argentina and his buddies on Wall Street.
How is This Hurting American Farmers?
The United States is committing billions to boost Argentina’s economy not only while the American government is shut down and families are suffering, but also when thousands of American soybean farmers are suffering and in need of help. This is a result of Trump’s disastrous trade war with China which has led to China boycotting the purchase of American soybeans since May. Prior to the trade war, China was the largest buyer of American soybeans—purchasing more than 50 percent of U.S. exports in 2023 and 2024. Argentina and Brazil’s farmers have filled this void, increasingly supplying China with soybeans. After the Trump Administration signaled they would be providing Argentina with a bailout, Argentina simultaneously announced that it would waive taxes on soybean exports to facilitate even more shipments to China, displacing purchases traditionally fulfilled by American farmers. This harm comes on top of the labor shortage American farmers are facing due to the Administration’s cruel mass deportation agenda.
Here's What Some Republicans Have to Say About It:
Republican Senator Chuck Grassley: “Why would USA help bail out Argentina while they take American soybean producers' biggest market,” he said. "We shld use leverage at every turn to help hurting farm economy Family farmers shld be top of mind in negotiations by representatives of USA.”
Republican Senator Kevin Cramer: “When you’re an America First Administration, talking America First all the time, and then give $20 billion to Argentina, who then turns around and sells to your market and undercuts it – the brand gets damaged a little.”
Republican Senator Rand Paul: “I am against bailing out any countries…if we had an extra $20 billion laying around, we should put it towards our own debt.”
Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene: “Americans are getting decimated with high cost of living and skyrocketing insurance costs. Many of them have zero savings and some are maxing out credit cards to survive. Tell me how it’s America First to bailout a foreign country with $20 or even $40 BILLION taxpayer dollars.”
What are Committee Democrats Doing About It?
The House Financial Services Committee has jurisdiction and oversight of Treasury’s international work and any use of the Exchange Stabilization Fund.
As such, Democratic staff on the House Financial Committee asked Treasury for a briefing on the bailout, to which they responded: “[Treasury] has limited staffing due to the shutdown and is solely focused on reopening the government.” However, given Treasury’s involvement in this deal, that would not appear to be the case unless Treasury’s plan to reopen the government involves bailing out a foreign country.
Given the Administration’s utter lack of transparency, Ranking Member Waters sent a letter to Treasury Bessent demanding a briefing for Committee Members, and detailed information about the financial assistance being extended to Argentina, including the terms, conditions, safeguards, and justification for the bailout. Read the full letter HERE.
For background, when the Clinton Administration utilized $20 billion from the ESF to bailout Mexico after Congress rejected a different rescue plan, there was extensive engagement with Congress throughout the process. For example, our Committee held three hearings on the matter, wherein the Treasury Secretary testified twice, in addition to other senior officials and experts. It is imperative that Congress undertakes similar oversight and receives the same level of transparency we did then considering the stakes of this deal on the American taxpayer.
Ranking Member Waters also sent a letter to Chairman French Hill (R-AR), requesting his assistance to organize a briefing with senior Treasury officials for Members of the House Financial Services Committee. Read the full letter HERE.
Committee Democrats will keep pressure on the Administration until more details about this bailout are made available to Congress and the American people.
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