The Treasury Department's bond buyback program caused long-term interest rates to increase.
Posted by Bulwark Takes, Checked
- Sources
- 5 contradict2 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 85%
Bulwark TakesAug 21, 2026
The sources contradict the causal claim: the buyback announcement initially pushed long-term yields down, and the later rebound was attributed to deficits, inflation worries and heavy tech borrowing, not to the buybacks.
This claim is about the present, so it is judged as of the day it was checked.
What was said
… So, if you're worried about the housing market, about voters being really pissed off about how high their mortgage rates are if they're trying to buy a house or refinance or whatever, this in theory should do a little bit to help, in theory. However, I think we have a nice little chart that we can show that actually they were trying to bring interest rates down, and instead they shot them up, and there are a bunch of different explanations for this, but basically nobody believes that the thing that's that's causing rates to be high, these long-term rates to be high, is actually being resolved by any of this. …
Bulwark Takes · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Contradicts. Reuters reports that the surprise buyback announcement arrested a worldwide rise in long-term borrowing costs, with yields still close to multi-decade highs because of inflation and government debt worries.[1]
Contradicts. AP attributes the rebound in rates to government debt, heavy borrowing by tech firms and Federal Reserve inflation concerns, and notes the 10-year yield returned to roughly where it stood before the announcement.[2]
Contradicts. CNBC and Investopedia report that long-term yields fell sharply after the August 19 announcement, so the intervention initially lowered rather than raised yields.[3][4]
Contradicts. CFR reports that the announcement initially pushed yields down but they quickly climbed back, and it attributes persistent high borrowing costs to the broader borrowing and fiscal picture rather than to the buybacks.[5]
Context. Zurich and Seattle Times analyses note that yields rebounded to erase most of the post-announcement decline, and the fundamental drivers of higher yields remained in place.[6][7]
Sources
7 sources: 2 fact-checkers, 5 not rated
- 1Bonds bounce on US buybacks, but relief may be brief - Reutersreuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: contradicts
- 2Why Treasury Secretary Bessent's moves to calm the bond ...apnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: contradicts
- 3Treasury bond buybacks ease long-term yields, but ...cnbc.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts
- 4The Treasury Just Stepped in to Support Long-Term Bonds. Here ...investopedia.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts
- 5Why U.S. Borrowing Costs Keep Climbing Despite Treasury's Effortscfr.org · not rated · cited for: contradicts
- 6Let’s twist again — the US Treasury puts a lid on longer-term bond yieldszurich.com · not rated · cited for: context
- 7What's behind Treasury's attempt to lower interest ratesseattletimes.com · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
- The Treasury Department announced a program to purchase long-term bonds.True
- The Treasury Department's bond buyback program is scheduled to begin in September.True
- The 10-year bond yield rose from 4.8% to 5.04% following the Treasury Secretary's intervention.Mixed
- Scott Bessent is buying up Treasury instruments to push interest rates down.True
- Long-term interest rates for 10-year, 20-year, and 30-year U.S. Treasuries have increased due to debt problems and political dysfunction.Mixed