President-elect Donald Trump has tapped former Goldman Sachs executive and hedge fund CEO Steve Mnuchin for the position of treasury secretary. Mnuchin served as Trump's finance chair during his campaign.
Over the years, Mnuchin has been a Hollywood producer and a Democratic donor. Mnuchin has also faced some controversy -- a lending company on whose board he sits, CIT Group, faces a housing discrimination complaint. “CIT is committed to fair-lending and works hard to meet the credit needs of all communities and neighborhoods we serve,” the company said in an e-mail to ABC News.
Mnuchin was immediately criticized by the DNC as being a "slap in the face to voters who hoped he would shake up Washington." “So much for draining the swamp," DNC Communications Director Adam Hodge wrote in a statement, characterizing Mnuchin as a "billionaire hedge fund manager and Goldman Sachs alumnus who preyed on homeowners during the recession."
Here's everything you need to know about Mnuchin:
Name: Steven Terner Mnuchin (Pronounced MIN-OOCH-IN) Party: Republican Date of Birth: Dec. 21, 1962 (53) Age: 53 Birthplace: New York, NY (Mnuchin comes from an influential New York family; his father, Robert, was a partner at Goldman Sachs and opened the Mnuchin Gallery on the Upper East Side)
What He Does Now:
Mnuchin is the co-founder, co-CEO and chairman of Dune Capital Management. He is a member of Trump’s transition team executive committee and has visited Trump Tower several times since Trump was elected.
What He Used to Do:
Mnuchin was a partner at Goldman Sachs, where he worked for 17 years, and left the firm in 2002. When he left the firm, he founded RatPac Dune Entertainment, which produced several films, including "Avatar" and the X-Men movies. In 2009, Mnuchin organized investors (including top Clinton donor George Soros) to buy IndyMac, (the failed housing lender) and renamed it OneWest. Although OneWest was sold to the CIT group in 2015, Mnuchin sits on the board of that group. He has also worked for Soros Fund Management, a firm funded by George Soros, a major Clinton donor.
Things You May Not Know About Him:
Mnuchin was a member of the exclusive Skull and Bones secret society at Yale, along with both Bush presidents and former Secretary of State John Kerry.
Education:
Yale University
Relationship with Trump
Trump named Mnuchin as national campaign finance chairman in May 2016. In an interview with Bloomberg, Mnuchin said he was with the president-elect at Trump Tower the night he won the New York primary, and Trump asked him to join his campaign. "He's bringing a lot of people into the party who have not been part of the party in the past," Mnuchin said, according to Bloomberg
In 2009, Mnuchin's company, Dune Capitol, was among those that bought interests in a Trump construction project in Chicago. Trump subsequently sued to extend the dates of the loans, which the defendants, including Dune Capital, did not accept.
ABC News has reached out to Mnuchin about this lawsuit via Dune Capital Management and is awaiting a response.
Positions on Financial Regulation
As treasury secretary, Mnuchin could be influential in the push -- promoted by the Trump team -- to alter the Dodd-Frank Wall Street regulations.
In a July interview with CNBC , Mnuchin said Dodd-Frank, passed in 2010, needs to be re-examined. "We're not taking a position on whether we support that or don't support it. We're saying a lot of things need to be looked at. We think Dodd-Frank needs to be looked at. Obviously there is an important concern of protecting depositors."
Possible Flags for Confirmation
Two groups in California, the California Reinvestment Coalition and Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California, recently filed a complaint with the Department of Housing and Urban Development against, CIT Group, which acquired OneWest, . The complaint alleges that CIT Group, where Mnuchin sits on the board, failed to open a significant number of branches in minority neighborhoods and provide adequate loans in Southern Califonria, including Los Angeles.
“CIT is committed to fair-lending and works hard to meet the credit needs of all communities and neighborhoods we serve,” the company said in an e-mail to ABC News.
Mnuchin’s mother invested with Bernie Madoff. She died in 2005 and left her sons $5 million. SIPA administrator Irving Picard sued them, claiming that $3 million of the money was stolen profits. The lawsuit was ultimately dropped.
In an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek, Mnuchin said of the lawsuit, "This was one of hundreds of cases that there was a decision on. There is nothing special about this case."
ABC News has reached out to Mnuchin about this lawsuit via Dune Capital Management and is awaiting a response.
History of Democratic Donations:
Although Mnuchin donated to former GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney, he has a history of donating to Democratic candidates, which may raise red flags for conservatives. He has donated to the following politicians, according to the Federal Election Commission: Barack Obama: 2004, 2007 Hillary Clinton: 2000, 2005 John Kerry: 2004 Chuck Schumer: 1998 Kamala Harris: 2016 Al Gore: 2000 Bill Bradley: 2000
from ABC News: Politics http://ift.tt/2gWpmQn
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