Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent Responds to Obama’s White House Renovation Remarks with Cheesecake Factory Lunch
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent ate at a Washington, D.C., Cheesecake Factory location after former President Barack Obama criticized White House renovations, and he also commented on the design of the Obama Presidential Center.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent ate lunch at a Washington, D.C., Cheesecake Factory on Monday after former President Barack Obama, speaking at a rally in Ohio, compared the Trump administration’s White House renovations to a fast-food restaurant. Obama said the president “seems very focused on home renovations” and suggested he “should be on HGTV.”
Bessent said he ordered a French dip cheeseburger, a regular choice for him at the chain, and used the occasion to criticize the design of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, describing it as resembling “Darth Vader’s tomb.”
The Obama Presidential Center, a 225-foot granite tower in Chicago, has been referred to by some critics as the “Obamalisk.” Its projected cost has risen from an initial estimate of $350 million to over $1 billion, according to earlier reporting, and additional public infrastructure expenses have been noted.
Bessent, a frequent defender of the administration’s policies, previously responded to a letter from Senator Elizabeth Warren by suggesting she study introductory economics instead of continuing her correspondence with the Treasury Department.