Liberal groups opposed to the nomination of Steven Mnuchin to be treasury secretary are targeting senators on the panel voting on his confirmation with an ad featuring a borrower foreclosed on by his bank.
The ads will air this week in the states of several of the senators on the Senate Finance Committee who will vote on Mnuchin’s nomination, including Florida, Missouri, Colorado, Delaware and Virginia. It already has run, and will continue to run, in Arizona, Nevada and Iowa.
The foreclosures carried out by Mnuchin’s former bank, OneWest, were the focus of Democrats’ main line of attack at his confirmation hearing. The 30-second ad goes after the same vulnerability, highlighting the case of one woman who lost her home and warns that “Steven Mnuchin ran the bank that committed fraud and took our home. And now Donald Trump has nominated him to run our economy as treasury secretary. We can’t let that happen.”
The Progressive Change Campaign Committee, Allied Progress Action and Demand Progress Action, the three groups responsible for the video, said they would spend six figures to air the ad, following strong online fundraising.
Mnuchin could advance through the committee with a party-line vote, as Republicans hold a 14-12 advantage on the panel. But Republican Sen. Dean Heller of Nevada appeared conflicted about Mnuchin’s nomination, expressing concern about OneWest’s foreclosures in his hard-hit state. His constituents will see the ad.
A vote on confirmation has not been set.
