Donald Trump administration Secretary of the Treasury appointment, 2017

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Following his election as the 45th President of the United States in 2016, Donald Trump and his transition team considered individuals to fill the position of secretary of the treasury. The duties of the secretary of the treasury include but are not limited to: managing economic and fiscal policy; handling government accounting and debt management; promulgating and enforcing tax and tariff laws; assessing and collecting internal revenue; producing currency; and supervising national banks. On November 29, 2016, Trump announced that financier and former Goldman Sachs official Steven Mnuchin would be his choice for secretary of the treasury. Mnuchin's appointment was confirmed on February 13, 2017.

Nomination tracker
Candidate: Steve Mnuchin
Position: Secretary of the Treasury
Confirmation progress
a	Announced:	November 29, 2016
a	Hearing:	January 19, 2017
a	Committee:	Senate Finance Committee
a	Reported:	February 1, 2017 (14-0)
a	Confirmed:	February 13, 2017
a	Vote:	53-47

To read more about the U.S. Department of the Treasury and its current staff, click here.

Timeline

See also: Steven Mnuchin

The following timeline highlights noteworthy events related to this appointment.

• November 29, 2016: Trump nominated Steve Mnuchin for the position.
• February 1, 2017: The Senate Finance Committee voted 14-0 in favor of Mnuchin. Committee Democrats boycotted the vote.
• February 13, 2017: The Senate voted 53-47 in favor of appointing Mnuchin. West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin III was the only Democrat to vote in favor of Mnuchin.

Confirmation hearing

Mnuchin appeared in a confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee on January 19, 2017.

• In his opening statement, Mnuchin spoke to press reports of foreclosures conducted during his time as the head of OneWest. He said, “In the press it has been said that I ran a ‘foreclosure machine.’ This is not true. On the contrary, I was committed to loan modifications intended to stop foreclosures. I ran a ‘Loan Modification Machine.’ Whenever we could do loan modifications we did them, but many times, the FDIC, FNMA, FHLMC, and bank trustees imposed strict rules governing the processing of these loans.”
• On GDP growth: Mnuchin said that his top priority was to ensure growth, which he said he expected to be 3 to 4 percent annual GDP. He said, “Whatever issues we have as Republicans or Democrats, I think we can agree that with more growth it’s a lot easier to solve these issues, and we should all be focused on things that help grow the economy.”
• On the Volcker Rule: The Volcker Rule is part of the Dodd-Frank Act, the major financial regulation passed in 2010. The rule, named after former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, established that banks or institutions that own banks could not trade stocks, bonds, and other financial instruments with the bank's own money rather than that of depositors, or could not own or invest in hedge funds. Under these kinds of transactions, the trader was paid on the basis of the value of the transactions rather than the profit made for their client. On the rule, Mnuchin said, “I do support the Volcker Rule. ... The concept for proprietary trading doesn’t fit banks that are FDIC insured.” Previously, Mnuchin had said he would strip back that rule.

Democratic opposition to Mnuchin

Some Senate Democrats expressed opposition to Mnuchin as secretary of the treasury. Calling him the "Foreclosure King" because of "his bank’s practice of buying distressed mortgages during the financial crisis and evicting thousands of homeowners," Senate Democrats requested that personal stories be submitted about how Mnuchin impacted American families.

• Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) sent a letter to Mnuchin, saying, “A Treasury secretary is expected to be an expert in financial market operations and regulation, in addition to industrial and international trade policy, terrorist financing and sanctions, and tax and fiscal policy, among others. I am currently unaware of your views and record on a host of these issues.”

• A spokesperson for Mnuchin said, “Mr. Mnuchin looks forward to the confirmation process and to meeting Senator Brown to discuss issues important to the senator."

• Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) criticized Trump and Mnuchin on Twitter, saying that Trump “wants to hand Steven Mnuchin the keys to @USTreasury—where he can make big banks even richer at the expense of families.”

Republican support for Mnuchin

All 52 Senate Republicans voted to confirm Mnuchin as secretary of the treasury on February 13, 2017. The following are statements made by Republicans who supported Mnuchin for the position.

• President Donald Trump (R) said in a statement announcing Mnuchin's nomination, "Steve Mnuchin is a world-class financier, banker and businessman, and has played a key role in developing our plan to build a dynamic, booming economy that will create millions of jobs."

• Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said Mnuchin had been a "leader and a manager through his career, demonstrating an ability to make tough decisions and to be accountable."

Considered candidates for secretary of the treasury

The table below highlights individuals who were either nominated to the position by Trump or were mentioned in the media as potential nominees.

Considered candidates for secretary of the treasury
Name	Notable experience	Source
Steven Mnuchin	Former Goldman Sachs executive	Los Angeles Times
Jeb Hensarling	U.S. Representative from Texas	The Wall Street Journal
Thomas Barrack Jr.	Founder of Colony Capital	The New York Times
Tim Pawlenty	Former Gov. of Minnesota	The New York Times
Carl Icahn	Hedge fund manager	ABC News
Jamie Dimon	CEO of JPMorgan Chase	Politico
Jonathan Gray*	Head of global real estate at Blackstone Group	Politico
*Gray told Politico on November 23, 2016, that he was not interested in the position, saying, "I had a terrific meeting and robust policy discussion with the President-elect. It was an honor to be considered for Treasury Secretary but I still have much work to do at Blackstone."

See also

Executive Branch portal U.S. Department of State U.S. Department of Homeland Security U.S. Department of Justice U.S. Department of Commerce U.S. Department of Labor U.S. Department of Energy U.S. Department of Agriculture

U.S. Department of the Treasury U.S. Department of Education U.S. Department of Transportation U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Department of Health and Human Services U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

External links

• Official U.S. Department of the Treasury website