Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday that the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank are "falling short" of their original missions and guilty of "mission creep" as he asked them to refocus efforts on helping the US restore balance to the international economic system.

The treasury secretary said the Trump administration remains committed to playing a leadership role in the IMF and the World Bank but will “demand that the management and staff of these institutions be accountable for demonstrating real progress.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday called on the International Monetary Fund and World Bank to refocus on their core missions of macroeconomic stability and development, arguing that they have strayed too far into vanity projects such as climate change that have reduced their effectiveness.