President Trump’s Treasury Secretary, billionaire Scott Bessent, was questioned this week by members of the Senate Finance Committee regarding the President’s 2027 budget.
As seen below, facing questions from Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Bessent held up a color printout of one of the President’s social media posts, titled “Trump’s Making Food Affordable,” and said: “I have groceries are going down.”
He added, “To be clear, since the President took office, food prices, or as many people like to call them ‘groceries’, food at home, and this is statistical data, is up 2.5 percent.”
Trump’s Treasury Secretary: F-food prices, or as many people like to call them, groceries, statistical data–
Sen. @Maggie_Hassan: When’s the last time you were in a grocery store?? pic.twitter.com/q3YMNQiOM7
— Headquarters (@HQNewsNow) June 3, 2026
Hassan asked, “When was the last time you’ve been in a grocery store, because my husband and I were just in one, and look, the average Granite Stater has paid $3,000 more since Donald Trump took office for basic goods and services.”
Fellow Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) also criticized the Trump administration for increased food prices.
With a link to the new Bloomberg article “Americans Are About to Pay Even More at the Grocery Store,” she wrote: “President Trump promised to lower prices for Americans struggling with high costs, but we’ve seen just the opposite. From tariffs to his war in Iran, @POTUS is driving grocery costs sky-high, and unfortunately, the worst may be yet to come.”
President Trump promised to lower prices for Americans struggling with high costs, but we’ve seen just the opposite.
From tariffs to his war in Iran, @POTUS is driving grocery costs sky-high, and unfortunately, the worst may be yet to come.https://t.co/l9YsiOT85x
— Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (@SenatorShaheen) June 2, 2026
[NOTE: In February, the USDA projected “U.S. food-at-home (grocery) prices are expected to rise by 2.5% in 2026, matching the roughly 2.5% increase observed in late 2025.” In May, the projections were revised. According to the latest USDA ERS Food Price Outlook, “food-at-home prices are now predicted to increase 3.2% in 2026, marking an acceleration rather than a flat 2.5%.”]
Some food industry experts, including “Supermarket Guru” Phil Lempert, have warned that price increases could potentially be much higher (5-8%) due to factors like tariffs and supply issues.