Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent Fails to Adhere to Ethics Contract
Scott Bessent, the U.S. Treasury Secretary and former hedge fund manager, is facing challenges in divesting his remaining assets, particularly farmland in North Dakota, to avoid conflicts of interest.
Bessent, who took office about a week after signing an ethics agreement in January, pledged to divest his Key Square Group hedge fund and other assets. He has divested approximately 96% of these assets, but the remaining 4%—worth about $25 million in farmland—prove to be a challenge due to their illiquid nature.
The farmland, which earns up to $1 million a year in rental income, raises potential conflicts given Bessent's role in U.S.-China trade negotiations, as North Dakota exports about 70% of its soybeans to China.
Due to the difficulty in selling the farmland and other assets, Bessent was granted an extension to complete the divestiture by December 15, 2025. This extension was made following ethics concerns about his continued ownership of the farmland.
The Office of Government Ethics (OGE) wrote a letter to Senate Finance Committee Chair Mike Crapo stating that Bessent has not complied with certain terms of his ethics agreement, including the deadline for the divestiture of the farmland. OGE's Christopher subsequently confirmed that Bessent is committed to completing the remaining asset divestitures by December 15, 2025, including the farmland in North Dakota.
The Treasury's ethics office has set up screening procedures to identify potentially conflicting matters for Bessent. Some of the assets to be divestitured have restrictions on who can acquire them, adding to the complexity of the process.
As of August 2025, Bessent's farmland divestiture is ongoing, with most of the required divestitures, valued at about $1 billion, having been completed before Trump's second-term inauguration on January 20. Bessent will continue to recuse himself from certain matters affecting the remaining assets.
[1] Source: Office of Government Ethics (OGE) letter to Senate Finance Committee Chair Mike Crapo [2] Source: U.S. Treasury spokesperson [3] Source: North Dakota Soybean Processors Association [4] Source: OGE's subsequent letter to Crapo confirming Bessent's commitment to completing the divestiture by December 15, 2025.
- Bessent's ongoing divestiture process, which includes the farmland in North Dakota, is a topic of discussion in policy-and-legislation, given the ethics concerns raised by the Office of Government Ethics (OGE).
- The farmland owned by Bessent, which is involved in general-news due to its value and potential conflicts with his role in U.S.-China trade negotiations, is a significant part of the remaining 4% of assets he is yet to divest.
