Scott Bessent was fed up.
For weeks, the Treasury secretary believed that William J. Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, was bad-mouthing him to President Trump.
And then, last Wednesday, the two men found each other face to face at the kickoff dinner for the Executive Branch, a members-only club in Georgetown started by the president’s eldest son and a few of his allies.
A back-and-forth by the bar ensued. Mr. Bessent demanded to know why Mr. Pulte was trash-talking him to the president, and then threatened to punch him in the face.
The dust-up, which ended without any punches thrown, was first reported by Politico and described to The New York Times by six people familiar with the matter.
The episode reflects the volatile personalities that often make up Mr. Trump’s orbit, including Mr. Bessent, who has become known in part for his hot temper. But it also shows how Mr. Trump’s closest advisers navigate their jobs while staying in favor with a president who demands total loyalty, surrounding himself with people willing to do nearly anything for his cause. People close to him say they are frustrated that the argument went public, as this kind of publicized backbiting had died down after the departure of Elon Musk from the administration.
Mr. Pulte has emerged on social media as one of the president’s fiercest defenders. Mr. Trump has come to “love” him, in the words of two of his advisers, for his willingness to try to seek out punishments for people the president sees as enemies, using mortgage fraud allegations as his weapon of choice.
Omeed Malik, a financier with deep ties in Mr. Trump’s world who is also an owner of the Executive Branch, told associates that he went up to the two men to say hello during the kickoff dinner last week, not knowing what he was walking into.
At that point, Mr. Bessent demanded of Mr. Malik that Mr. Pulte be ejected. Then Mr. Bessent said he and Mr. Pulte could go outside.
Why? Mr. Pulte asked. Did Mr. Bessent want to talk? No, Mr. Bessent replied, he was going to beat Mr. Pulte up, according to the people who were briefed on the encounter. Mr. Malik was seen defusing the situation by turning Mr. Bessent away and toward the dining table, escorting him to his seat.
It was not clear who started the dispute. People supportive of Mr. Bessent, including the agriculture secretary, Brooke Rollins, who was speaking with Mr. Bessent before the fight, blamed Mr. Pulte. Others said Mr. Bessent approached Mr. Pulte and gesticulated angrily as they spoke.
The tensions had been simmering for some time, including over Mr. Bessent’s comments over the summer about what should happen with Jerome H. Powell, the Federal Reserve chair. Mr. Trump has been calling on Mr. Powell to step down and threatening to fire him for months because of the central bank’s unwillingness to lower interest rates.
Mr. Pulte even crafted a draft letter for Mr. Trump firing Mr. Powell.
Mr. Bessent had told CNBC in July that there should be a review of the Fed’s operations but that Mr. Powell did not need to step down. Mr. Bessent believes that Mr. Pulte seized on that interview and used it to speak badly about him to the president.
During last week’s exchange, Mr. Bessent said he knew what Mr. Pulte had been saying about him to Mr. Trump because Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, had learned about it and told him, according to three of the people briefed on what took place.
Mr. Graham did not respond to a message seeking comment.
There were close to a dozen cabinet members at the Executive Club that night as well as other Trump world high rollers including Mr. Musk’s right-hand, Jared Birchall, according to attendees.
Mr. Bessent, Mr. Pulte and Mr. Malik each declined to comment.
Mr. Bessent’s professorial demeanor and deep knowledge of the economy has been credited with soothing volatile markets. And yet, behind the scenes, Mr. Bessent has developed a reputation for displays of anger.
Earlier this year, he and Elon Musk got into a bitter feud over who was leading the Internal Revenue Service.
On Monday, Mr. Musk posted on X a link to the Politico article that detailed Mr. Bessent’s latest clash, writing simply: “Hmm.”
Maggie Haberman is a White House correspondent for The Times, reporting on President Trump.
Shawn McCreesh is a White House reporter for The Times covering the Trump administration.
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