Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent argued in a speech that the multilateral economic institutions have veered away from their missions.

Bessent sharply criticized the IMF and World Bank, saying that “mission creep has knocked these institutions off course.” He criticized the IMF for devoting too much time to “work on climate change, gender, and social issues” while failing to hold countries to which it lends money accountable for implementing economic reforms.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has played a balancing act trying to reassure nervous investors that the U.S. would maintain its global leadership role while staying true to the Trump administration’s skepticism of multilateral banking organizations.