Trump Treasury secretary torn apart for leaving out 'to-do' list 'on-purpose'

A notepad in front of U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent reads "To Do Buy Japanese Yen $5-10 bil" as he participates in a cabinet meeting at Camp David, Maryland, U.S., July 31, 2026. IMAGES OF THE DAY

A notepad used by Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent during a Camp David Cabinet meeting on Friday revealed a “to-do list” reminding the official to “buy Japanese Yen $5-10 bil” — a flagrant display that critics revealed was likely made “on-purpose.”

As Reuters reports, the photo was “taken over Bessent's shoulder during an on-the-record portion of the meeting” and “showed no other words” besides the reminder to “buy Japanese Yen.”

According to the Bloomberg, the U.S. Treasury did indeed buy yen on Friday to support the Japanese currency.

“The U.S. joined Japan in engineering one of the most notable rebounds in the yen since the currency began its years-long slide, a decline that’s stoked inflation in the Asian nation and rippled through global markets,” Bloomberg reports.

Per Bloomberg, “The sharp gains were fueled by a combination of direct purchases of the yen, calls by officials to banks that trade the currency and jawboning from US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama. Bessent, who has deep knowledge of Japan’s place in global markets from his hedge fund career, indicated that he thinks the yen is too weak.”

According to Reuters, this marks “Washington's first yen-buying intervention with Tokyo in more than a decade as it languishes near 40-year lows.”
The “U.S. Treasury has not intervened to prop up the yen since 2011,” Reuters reports.

Bloomberg opinion columnist Gearoid Reidy, reacting to the photo, called Bessent “a joker.”

“This is the most on-purpose thing ever,” Reidy wrote.

Japanese Politics/International Relations expert Jeffrey J. Hall likewise noted Bessent “left [the note] out for the media to photograph.”

Corpay Chief Market Strategist Karl Schamotta called the note “the funniest thing I’ve ever seen in [financial] markets.”

“Seriously folks,” Schamotta said. “Bessent wrote himself a reminder to intervene in currency markets—complete with the amount to be purchased — as if he didn’t want to forget anything at the grocery store, and then left that note in plain sight so reporters could see it. Amazing!”

It’s not the first time Bessent has used his notepad to telegraph a message to the media. In May, the Treasury secretary wrote and underlined the word “resilience” on a notepad during a Cabinet meeting. The list on that notepad also included “Operation Economic Fury,” “Just in Time, Just in Case” in parentheses and the word “resilience” again.

Asked during a press conference why he wrote those messages on his notepad, Bessent replied, to laughs, “So people could look over my shoulder, photograph them and think they got a scoop.”

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