A collective of alumni from Yale University, where U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent attended, has sent a formal letter urging him to reassess his role in what they perceive as the Trump administration’s shift toward authoritarian governance in the United States.
The correspondence states: “Scott, please take a moment to step back, look down the road a piece, and think hard about whether you want to be responsible for enabling the descent of America into fascism,” and is dated Wednesday.
The signatories encourage Bessent to “be brave,” calling upon him to act against what they describe as an increasingly irrational political climate.
The letter, assertively argues that “many” actions taken by President Donald Trump and his administration are unconstitutional and threaten the foundation of democracy.
As of Friday, 140 members of the Yale Class of 1984 had signed the online petition addressed to Bessent. Not only is he a distinguished member of this class, but he also previously served as an adjunct professor at Yale, where he taught economic history.
Signatories of the letter include an array of professionals such as lawyers, CEOs, journalists, playwrights, a pastor, educators, a farmer, and social workers.
In response to the letter, Bessent issued a statement to Finance Newso, stating:
“It is equal parts odd and sad that a group of people, most of whom I have never met, feel they have standing in my life choices due to a tenuous overlap from 40 years ago.” He remarked on the cowardice of engaging through digital platforms rather than partaking in the political process first-hand, remarking, “These are the same close-minded progressives who have sought to undermine President Trump at every turn.” He paraphrased President Teddy Roosevelt, emphasizing the importance of those actively participating in the political arena rather than the critics.
“Being part of the Trump Administration and serving the American people is the honor of my lifetime,” he concluded.
Catherine Teegarden, another 1984 alum, noted that she had previously sent a similar letter to Bessent via U.S. Mail in March, which went unanswered. Her current initiative aims to amplify the voices of her peers regarding their concerns about the administration’s trajectory and fortify a principled stance among alumni.
“I know there were others like myself who felt somewhat hopeless about what is occurring in our government,” said Teegarden, who has retired after a three-decade career directing an architectural education program.
The letter mirrors a prior communication sent in August 2017 to then-Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin by over 350 members of Yale’s Class of 1985, urging him to resign due to his perceived complicity in Trump’s comments on a violent white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Mnuchin did not acquiesce to that demand.
The latest letter similarly appeals to Bessent’s background as a Political Science major, urging him to uphold the principles of equal governmental branches as a safeguard against executive overreach.
The communication outlines a series of actions taken by the Trump administration that the signatories argue represent an attempt to concentrate power, undermining legislative and judicial authority.
Included in the examples are claims of granting billionaire Elon Musk unfettered access to private data of American citizens, aggressive actions against opposition media and governmental employees, and the perceived unlawful incarceration of individuals under immigration law.
The authors express grave concerns regarding the administration’s conflicts of interest involving personal financial gain alongside governmental policies, as well as the detrimental economic impact of erratic tariff decisions.
“While the global economic turmoil this administration has sparked may have triggered the loudest alarm bells, the unlawful manner in which they are conducting official business at home should be equally alarming to you as Treasury Secretary,” states the letter.
“Your sworn oath to uphold the Constitution as you manage the nation’s finances demands that you do everything in your power to stop this administration’s unprecedented attacks on our democracy,” it continues.
One of the individuals who signed the letter, David Kallick, voiced his concerns over due process and constitutional protections being disregarded by the administration’s actions, describing the threat posed by such behavior as “very real.”
Kallick, who works as the director of the Immigration Research Initiative, expressed his alarm at what he perceives as increasingly authoritarian trends. He emphasized that without voices like those of Bessent, there is a tangible risk of further erosion into an autocratic governance structure.
Teegarden, who also did not know Bessent during their time at Yale, noted that many in their peer group refrained from signing the letter for fear of potential repercussions. She claims that some queried why the letter did not explicitly call for Bessent’s resignation.
“To me, that doesn’t really solve the problem,” she argued, asserting the need for rational voices within the administration to counterbalance what she perceives as legislative misconduct.
Teegarden hopes this letter will prompt Bessent to reflect on his responsibilities amid what they interpret as violations of democratic values.
Bessent’s classmate Hank Copeland remarked that he is confident Bessent likely does not wish to live in an autocracy. “He knows autocracy stifles human rights and shuts down the give and take that improve lives and make life interesting and make an economy dynamic,” said Copeland, who operates a technology firm in Indianapolis.
In discussing the letter’s intent, Copeland stated that while awareness-raising may seem futile, such gestures are important symbolic acts that affirm their values and concerns.
— Finance Newso’s Russell Leung contributed to this story
Read the full letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent below:
April 23, 2025
Scott Bessent
Secretary of the Treasury
1500 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20220
Dear Scott,
The undersigned members of your Yale ’84 class are writing to urge you to reconsider your part in facilitating the Trump administration’s intended transformation of our constitutional republic into an authoritarian state. As a Yale Political Science major, you know that the three branches of the U.S. government are meant to act as equal partners, providing checks and balances on each other to prevent the kind of power grab the executive branch is currently perpetrating.
Examples abound. During the past three months, the Trump administration has aggressively sought through executive orders and other means to usurp the power vested in the judicial and legislative branches so they can act without restraint, not for the benefit of the American people, but for their own personal aggrandizement, wealth, and power. So many of their actions are unconstitutional and undermine the very principles of our democracy, including their:
- cancellation and clawing-back of funds already approved and appropriated by Congress;
- dismantling of key federal agencies that serve, inform, and protect the public;
- granting Elon Musk and his DOGE cohorts virtually unlimited access and control over the private data of millions of US citizens, the nation’s secure financial systems, and the power to hire and fire federal workers in every agency, including agencies that regulate his own businesses;
- removal of Inspectors General and other monitors of fraud and corruption throughout the government;
- punitive attacks on independent news media, universities, citizens, judges and other governmental employees merely because they disagree with the administration;
- upending of global alliances that strengthened America’s interests around the world for decades;
- illegal seizure and incarceration of people in violation of our immigration laws and the due process required by our Constitution;
- enriching their own personal finances through blatant conflicts of interest such as the Trumps’ meme coins and Trump Media and Technology Group’s investment accounts which are poised to move in sync with the administration’s whimsical tariff decisions; and,
- fomenting a worldwide economic crisis through erratic and nonsensical tariff policies and self-destructive trade wars.
While the global economic chaos this administration has caused may have set off the loudest alarm bells, the unlawful manner in which they are conducting official business at home should be equally alarming to you as Treasury Secretary. Your sworn oath to uphold the Constitution as you manage the nation’s finances demands that you do everything in your power to stop this administration’s unprecedented attacks on our democracy.
Scott, please take a moment to step back, look down the road a piece, and think hard about whether you want to be responsible for enabling the descent of America into fascism. Dust off your old marked-up copy of Hannah Arendt’s The Origins of Totalitarianism from your college days. Remind yourself that when you read this text forty-some years ago you thought that such a thing could “never happen here.” We are giving you the benefit of the doubt that you didn’t think, “Wow, wouldn’t it be great if I could remake America into an autocracy!” And yet, here you are, doing just that by aiding and abetting the illegal actions of an administration seeking to destroy 250 years of American democracy.
Our Yale education challenged us to use light and truth, lux et veritas, to advance society, not the suppression and lies that characterize this current administration, of which you are a key player. We call on you to re-embrace these ideals from your college years and use your position to oppose and redirect this administration’s illegal, destructive and un-American actions before it is too late.
In the words of James Russell Lowell’s powerful hymn: “Once to every man and nation, comes a moment to decide… for the good or evil side…. Then it is the brave man chooses, and the coward stands aside.” Be brave. Stand up for what you know to be right and be a voice of reason in the midst of this insanity.
For God, FOR COUNTRY, and for Yale.
Sincerely,
Your Yale ’84 classmates:
