WASHINGTON ― President Donald Trump’s unprecedented bailout of Argentina is giving Democrats fodder to go on offense as the government shutdown drags on into its third week with no end in sight and hundreds of thousands of federal workers off the job.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) on Tuesday asked lawmakers for unanimous consent to pass the ‘No Argentina Bailout Act,’ a Democratic bill that would prohibit the Treasury Department’s Exchange Stabilization Fund (ESF) from offering a lifeline to Argentina’s financial markets in a bid to help the country’s president, Javier Milei, a close ally of Trump.
But Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) objected, calling the bill “unnecessary” and defending U.S. support for “an important ally in South America.” That allowed Warren to go on the attack, questioning why Republicans are offering aid to a foreign government while the U.S. government remains shut down.
“Even while the Trump administration is trying to fire more people and shut down more services, Trump is carefully keeping open the office at the Treasury Department responsible for executing his bailout of Argentina’s financial markets,” Warren said in a speech on the Senate floor.
“For Trump, the leader of Argentina is more important than American families struggling with rising costs for health care,” Warren added as Democrats continue to demand that Republicans agree to extend expiring health insurance protections in exchange for reopening the shuttered government.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced last week that the Trump administration is finalizing plans to provide a $20 billion credit swap to Argentina and that the U.S. had “directly” purchased an unspecified amount of Argentine pesos to stabilize its struggling economic markets ahead of an election this month that could hurt Milei’s political standing. Milei was widely celebrated on the right for his libertarian policies after he was elected two years ago ― policies that have since left his country’s economy in freefall.
Trump hosted Milei at the White House on Tuesday, praising his tenure and saying he was “on the verge” of an economic breakthrough. He also directly linked U.S. support for Argentina to the country’s election results later this month.
“Our approval is somewhat subject to who wins the election. If a socialist wins...you’d feel a lot differently about making an investment,” Trump said.
Asked how the U.S. stands to benefit from the arrangement, Trump said it would be good to see political change in Argentina and other Latin American countries with a history of socialist governments.
“We will benefit also, but it’s not that big a benefit because it’s not that big a country,” Trump said.
Democrats have aggressively attacked Trump over the Argentina bailout, mocking his campaign promises to fight for “America First” and tying the issue to the government shutdown, which is in its third week and could last a while longer.
“President Trump seems to think it’s more important to offer $20 billion to bail out Argentina than it is to make a bipartisan deal to prevent health insurance premiums from spiking for over 20 million Americans in a matter of days,” Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) said in a statement on Tuesday. “That’s not America First — it’s President Trump putting his political allies first even as Americans struggle to make ends meet.”
Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, questioned how wealthy allies of Bessent stood to gain from the bailout. The bailout would deliver a major windfall to Rob Citrone, a billionaire hedge fund manager with significant investments in Argentina who has known Bessent for decades.
Warren also highlighted how Argentina made a deal to sell its soybean crops to China, dealing a blow to American soybean farmers who are hurting from Trump’s tariffs, after the U.S. announced it is bailing out Argentina’s economy.
“This development is so terrible for American farmers and so embarrassing that the Treasury Secretary was caught looking at frantic texts from President Trump’s Agriculture Secretary complaining that the U.S. is bailing out a country that cozied up to China at the expense of our farmers,” Warren said, in reference to a candid photo that captured Bessent apparently texting with Trump’s Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins about the soybean deal.
Democrats aren’t the only ones with concerns about throwing Argentina a lifeline. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who is a soybean farmer, criticized the Trump administration’s decision to bail out Argentina’s government after it agreed to purchase soybeans from China.
“Why would USA help bail out Argentina while they take American soybean producers’ biggest market???” Grassley wrote in a social media post in September. “We shld use leverage at every turn to help hurting farm economy.”
Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) also acknowledged that Trump is undermining his America First rhetoric.
“When you’re an America First administration, talking America First all the time, and then give $20 billion to Argentina, who then turns around and sells to your market and undercuts it ― the brand gets damaged a little,” Cramer told Punchbowl News.