White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday that President Donald Trump is “wholeheartedly committed” to protecting Social Security, after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent framed his “Trump accounts” as a “backdoor for privatizing” it.
“What the secretary of Treasury was saying, and what this administration believes, is that these Trump newborn accounts — which is an incredibly creative and great provision that was in the One Big Beautiful Bill for newborn children, and families and future generations of Americans — will help supplement, not substitute, Social Security,” Leavitt said during Thursday’s briefing.
The tax-deferred investment accounts allow parents to contribute up to $5,000 a year for their children. The accounts allow for penalty-free withdrawals after age 59. The government will also contribute $1,000 to each baby born from 2025 to 2028.
“In a way, it is a backdoor for privatizing Social Security,” Bessent said at a Breitbart event in Washington on Wednesday. “If, all of a sudden, these accounts grow and you have in the hundreds of thousands of dollars for your retirement, that’s a game-changer, too.”
Democrats — who have accused Trump of planning to privatize Social Security in the past — immediately jumped on the comments.
“Have never seen a more textbook saying the quiet part out loud,” Democratic National Committee senior adviser Tim Hogan wrote on X.
After the event, Bessent clarified his statement, saying the accounts are an “additive benefit” for future generations meant to supplement Social Security.
“This is not an either-or question: our Administration is committed to protecting Social Security and to making sure seniors have more money,” he wrote on X.
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