Bessent doubles US debt buybacks in response to bond market stress

Published August 19, 2026 3:56pm ET



Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced Wednesday that the Treasury Department would at least double the size of its government debt buyback operations as the Trump administration seeks to contain rising borrowing costs.

The Treasury said it will increase the maximum size of its buyback operations for longer-dated nominal coupon securities from $2 billion to at least $4 billion per operation, covering the 10-year to 20-year and 20-year to 30-year sector.

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