Bessent will need Warsh's support. Possible next steps by the Fed (no QE, at first). Scott Bessent's attempt to suppress long-term yields by bolstering the Treasury's buyback program has faded, as expected. Technically, buybacks will not commence before September 9th. For context, publicly held debt with a duration longer than 10 years stood at ca. $6.23 trillion as of March 2026, while SOMA, the Fed's portfolio, held $1.58 trillion in the same maturity bucket. Here is the crux of the problem: Any Treasury buybacks will have a limited impact if the market continues selling the long end against them. Which brings us to the more powerful lever, a duration flip of the Fed's balance sheet. By selling short-end holdings and buying long-end securities, the Fed can meaningfully flatten the yield curve without expanding its balance sheet by a single dollar. No QE, no political embarrassment for Warsh, no headlines about money printing. The quantity stays identical, only the duration changes. The downstream effect is equally significant. Pressure on short-term yields creates the headroom the Fed needs to cut rates, without having to justify a balance sheet extension to a market that would immediately read it as capitulation. It is the quiet option. Which is precisely why it is the one worth watching. In other words - the possible sequence. Enhanced buy backs by the treasury (as announced)-> flip the Fed's balance sheet -> Cut rates -> QE as a lender of last resort.