Steven Mnuchin, a financier and alumnus of Goldman Sachs, will be named President-elect Trump’s secretary of the treasury, multiple outlets reported Tuesday.
The selection of Mnuchin, Trump’s campaign finance director, would place a former Wall Street banker and Hollywood insider at the top economic policy position in government.
Trump’s team was expected to announce its intention to nominated Mnuchin as early as Wednesday, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and other outlets reported Tuesday evening.
The 53-year-old investor earned the nod over several other reported candidates, including former BB&T Bank head John Allison, House Financial Services Committee chairman Jeb Hensarling, and — a rumored outside possibility — JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon.
Mnuchin would be the second treasury secretary within the past decade to have worked at Goldman Sachs, a background that is sure to cause friction when his nomination is sent to the Senate, where skepticism of Wall Street’s influence over the government is running hot.
Also controversial will be his role in the management of the failed bank IndyMac, which Mnuchin bought after it failed in the crisis of 2008 with a group of investors that included George Soros, the Hungarian-American hedge fund manager and prominent funder of liberal advocacy groups, and John Paulson, the hedge fund manager who made billions shorting the housing market during the crisis. Advocates charged that the OneWest, the bank created with IndyMac’s assets after they were purchased from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, was aggressive in foreclosing on borrowers, the kind of accusation that could prove damaging in confirmation hearings.
“Given Mr. Mnuchin’s history of profiting off the victims of predatory lending, I look forward to asking him how his Treasury Department would work for Americans who are still waiting for the economic recovery to show up in their communities,” said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., the ranking member of the Finance Committee that would consider Mnuchin’s nomination.
Currently the CEO of a hedge fund, Dune Capital, Mnuchin doesn’t have experience in government. Before joining Trump’s campaign, he had contributed to the campaigns of both Republicans and Democrats over the years, although he also backed Mitt Romney for president in 2012.
After beginning his career at Goldman Sachs, earning a fortune over the course of 17 years, Mnuchin left in 2002 to found his hedge fund. In the meantime, he has become involved in Hollywood, producing major films such as “American Sniper,” “Mad Max: Fury Road,” and “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.”
In the role of secretary treasury, Mnuchin would be responsible for shaping and implementing a wide range of Trump’s top economic priorities. He would be involved in negotiations over trade with foreign countries, a role that is likely to become even more important and demanding given Trump’s stated desire to renegotiate trade pacts. When Trump and the GOP Congress move to advance comprehensive tax reform, the treasury will be deeply involved. Mnuchin also would be responsible for designing and carrying out whatever changes the administration is seeking to the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform law, which Trump has said he wants to dismantle. On top of that, he would have to manage the nearly $14 trillion in Treasury debt.
