The Treasury secretary signaled the department is prepared to expand its debt repurchase program just one day after doubling it

The bond market has been sending distress signals for months. With public debt surpassing $40 trillion and the 30-year Treasury yield touching levels last seen in 2007, Washington has had a buyer’s strike problem on its hands.

Plus, U.S. debt reaches $40 trillion, and the Army cuts a much-heralded drone unit as it goes “back to basics.”

Following is the unofficial transcript of a CNBC exclusive interview with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" (M-F, 9AM-12PM ET) today, Thursday, August 20. Following are links to video on CNBC.

Markets have a short memory for good news and a long one for bad news, and this week proved it in real time. On Wednesday, the Treasury Dept. pulled off a genuine surprise: a bond-buyback expansion that briefly reversed a multi-week selloff pushing borrowing costs toward levels not seen since before the 2008 financial crisis.

Riley English, a Massachusetts woman who told police that she brought homemade firebombs to the U.S. Capitol to kill Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, has been sentenced to just over six years in prison.

With a slew of unexpected maneuvers this year, Scott Bessent has emerged as the most interventionist Treasury secretary in financial markets in decades — putting his credibility on the line in an effort to quell a potentially damaging rise in US borrowing costs.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was roasted online Thursday after admitting he doesn't "really understand” the spike in oil prices, prompting Fox News’ Jessica Tarlov to fire back, “Literally