Treasury Secretary Says Fed Will Likely Take Its Time to Reduce Balance Sheet

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Feb. 8 that he doesn’t expect the Federal Reserve to quickly move to reduce its balance sheet, even under the potential leadership of Fed Chair nominee Kevin Warsh, a critic of the central bank’s bond purchases. During an interview with Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” host Maria Bartiromo raised concerns about the Fed’s balance sheet, particularly after the 2008 financial crisis, when the central bank bought large quantities of government bonds and other securities to stimulate the economy and lower long-term interest rates, a practice known as quantitative easing. The unorthodox practice resulted in the Fed more than quadrupling its balance sheet over a seven-year period to $4.5 trillion by 2015. The balance sheet rocketed up again during the pandemic, reaching a high of $8.97 trillion in 2022, but has mostly declined since early 2023, dropping to $6.5 trillion in December 2025....