The U.S. Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, reiterated his defense of the financial support granted to Argentina during 2025 and highlighted that the operation ended with the return of the funds used and profits of tens of millions of dollars for Washington.
During his presentation this Tuesday before the House Financial Services Committee, the official from Donald Trump explained that Argentina had access to a swap line of up to USD 20 billion, although it ultimately used only a small portion of the available amount.
“In Argentina, we had a fully guaranteed swap line from which they took a small amount,” Bessent explained to lawmakers. He emphasized that the Treasury's goal was to protect U.S. public resources and the operation ended up generating profits.
“The goal was to protect the capital of the American people. In fact, we made tens of millions of dollars,” he stated. Bessent added that the tool also allowed for “building a bridge to a U.S. ally.”
The official placed special emphasis on this last point when one of the exchanges during the hearing linked the financial support directly to Trump. Bessent differentiated the personal relationship between the two presidents from the strategic relationship between the two countries and maintained that Argentina is “a U.S. ally.”
The presentation represents a new public defense of the mechanism used during the 2025 legislative elections. Days earlier, Bessent had explained that Washington considered Javier Milei's economic policies to be solid and stated that the Argentine opposition was using the markets to try to “create panic and cause a currency crisis.”
On that occasion, the Treasury Secretary explained that the United States sought to build a financial “bridge” during the electoral period while hoping that the operation would also be profitable for his country.
Scott Bessent with Javier Milei
The scheme was implemented through the U.S. Currency Stabilization Fund and included a line of up to USD 20 billion. Ultimately, Argentina used only a part, subsequently returned the funds used and paid the corresponding costs, closing the operation.
Bessent also praised the political direction adopted by the Argentine Government. During his intervention, he stated that Milei moved the country away from governments he defined as “far-left and anti-American” and claimed that Argentina has become a “beacon for Latin America”.
