Steven Mnuchin

Steven Mnuchin

Nonpartisan

Prior offices

U.S. Secretary of the Treasury

Successor: Andy Baukol

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Education

Bachelor's

Yale University

Contact

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Steven Mnuchin is the former secretary of the Treasury. He was the 77th person to serve in the position.

The secretary of the Treasury is "responsible for the executive branch agency whose mission is to maintain a strong economy, foster economic growth, and create job opportunities by promoting the conditions that enable prosperity and stability at home and abroad. He is also responsible for strengthening national security by combating economic threats and protecting the integrity of our financial system as well as managing the U.S. Government's finances."

President Donald Trump named Mnuchin as his pick for secretary of the Treasury on November 29, 2016. The Senate Finance Committee voted in favor of Mnuchin 14-0 on February 1, 2017. The Senate voted 53-47 in favor of appointing Mnuchin on February 13, 2017.

Mnuchin became involved with Trump's 2016 presidential run in May 2016, when he served as the campaign's finance chair. He was also a member of Donald Trump's presidential transition team, a group of advisors tasked with recommending presidential appointments for the incoming administration. Before joining the Trump administration, Mnuchin worked for Goldman Sachs and Soros Fund Management.

Biography

After receiving his bachelor's degree from Yale University, Mnuchin began working for the investment firm Goldman Sachs in 1985. Mnuchin spent 17 years with the firm, eventually serving as chief information officer.

When Mnuchin left Goldman Sachs, he briefly worked with Soros Fund Management as part of the fixed income, currency, and commodities division. He also served as CEO of IMB Holdco. Mnuchin then began a series of investments in media, real estate, and banking through his hedge fund Dune Capital Management, which he co-founded and for which he served as the co-executive officer. He was also the sole founder of Dune Real Estate Partners. Some of his notable investments include OneWest Bank Group (formerly IndyMac), which was sold to the CIT Group in 2015. Mnuchin financially backed several films. He was involved in producing The Accountant, Sully, American Sniper, and others.

Career

• February 13, 2017-January 20, 2021: U.S. Secretary of the Treasury
• 2004-2016: Manager of Dune Capital Management
• 1985-2002: Financier with Goldman Sachs

Confirmation vote

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

Senate vote

On February 10, 2017, the Senate voted to end a Democratic filibuster over Mnuchin's nomination. On February 13, 2017, the Senate voted to confirm him 53-47. The vote was split along party lines. Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) was the only Democrat to vote in favor of Mnuchin.

Steven Mnuchin confirmation vote, February 13, 2017
Party	Votes for a	Votes against d	Total votes
Democrats	1	45	46
Republicans	52	0	52
Independents	0	2	2
Total Votes	53	47	100

Senate Finance Committee

Mnuchin appeared in a confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee on January 19, 2017. A confirmation vote was scheduled for January 30, 2017; however, Senators Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) refused to participate in the vote, delaying the committee. Lawmakers responded by temporarily halting a rule requiring at least one Democrat to be present for the votes and approved Mnuchin by a vote of 14-0.

Democratic opposition to Mnuchin

Some Senate Democrats expressed opposition to Mnuchin as secretary of the Treasury. They labeled him the "Foreclosure King" because of "his bank’s practice of buying distressed mortgages during the financial crisis and evicting thousands of homeowners," according to the Senate Democrats' website. According to CNN, "They accused Mnuchin of having profited from the 2008 financial crisis by foreclosing on thousands of distressed homeowners while he was owner of housing lender IndyMac, which later was renamed OneWest."

Mnuchin responded to the allegations during his confirmation hearing, saying, "I didn't make one mortgage during or prior to the mortgage crisis." Later in the hearing, he added, "I take great offense to anybody who calls me the foreclosure king."

Issues

China

See also: Federal policy on China, 2017-2020

• On March 22, 2018, after President Donald Trump signed a memorandum to take against China for unfair trade practices, Mnuchin said, “China has sought to gain access to intellectual property and cutting-edge technology developed by U.S. businesses through such wrongful practices as systemic, government-driven investment in U.S. companies, unreasonable requirements and limiting restrictions intended to pressure U.S. firms, and cyber-enabled intrusions. This conduct threatens our national interests, undermines the value of U.S. investments and technology, weakens the global competitiveness of our firms, and harms American workers. Today’s actions are designed to counter this conduct and address the threat it presents to U.S. national interests.”

• During an interview with CNBC on February 23, 2017, Mnuchin was asked if the administration would label China a currency manipulator. He said, "We have a process within Treasury where we go through and look at currency manipulation across the board. We'll go through that process. We'll do that as we have in the past. We're not making any judgments until we go continue that process."

Financial regulation

• During his confirmation hearing on January 19, 2017, Mnuchin discussed loan modifications and the Volcker Rule.

• On loan modifications: "I think that Fannie and Freddie have been well run without creating risk to the government. What I've said and I believe is we need housing reform. So we shouldn't just leave Fannie and Freddie as is for the next four or eight years under government control without a fix." He added that a bipartisan fix was possible to avoid a large bailout or limitations on housing finance.

• On the Volcker rule: "I do support the Volcker rule. The concept for proprietary trading doesn’t fit banks that are FDIC insured," he said, discussing the regulation which limits what investments a bank can make.

• During an interview on November 30, 2016, Mnuchin said that his background as a banker would be an asset in reforming the Dodd-Frank Act. "The number one problem with Dodd-Frank is it’s way too complicated and it cuts back lending, so we want to strip back parts of Dodd-Frank that prevent banks from lending and that will be the number one priority on the regulatory side. The number one priority is going to be make sure that banks lend," he said. Mnuchin also said that he expected interest rates to remain low over the next two years and that he believed Janet Yellen had done a good job as the head of the Federal Reserve.

North Korea

See also: Federal policy on North Korea, 2017-2020

• On February 27, 2018, Mnuchin discussed sanctions placed on North Korea. He said, "There's 500 sanctions on North Korea since 2005. Basically half have been done in the last year. We have more sanctions authority now than we've ever had before. So for example, we have now powers that we can sanction anybody who's doing trade with North Korea. So I would in all disrespect, I would, I would say, or respect, I would say that these things take some time, but it is not decades, and we've seen evidence that they are already having an impact. But let me also make a comment. Our issue is not with the people of North Korea. So we want to be careful that we're not doing things — there are things that we could sanction that impact the people. What we're trying to do is cut down his ability to do ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons."

• On September 24, 2017, during an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, Mnuchin was asked if the Trump administration should direct sanctions at China for their business dealings with North Korea. Mnuchin said, "Well, the president signed an executive order. It was very, very significant. It gives the treasuries more authorities than we've ever had before. It allows us to block many transactions with anybody that does trade or other significant business with North Korea. It gives us the ability to block financial institutions that facilitate. The president is very committed to blocking economic transactions and that's what this is all about.”

Taxes

See also: Federal policy on taxes, 2017-2018

• On September 28, 2017, while speaking at the Washington Ideas conference, Mnuchin discussed the GOP's tax plan, saying, "Not only will this tax plan pay for itself, but it will pay down debt." According to The Wall Street Journal, Mnuchin said that "the proposal would fuel stronger growth, causing tax payments to rise and offsetting the revenue lost from lower rates. He also said lower rates would discourage corporate tax avoidance, which would help boost revenue."

• On September 24, 2017, during an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, Mnuchin was asked about the Trump administration's tax plan. Mnuchin said, “Any reductions we have in upper income taxes will be offset by less deductions, so that there will be no tax -- absolute tax cut for the upper class.” Tapper the asked, “Can you reaffirm that pledge, that there will be -- quote -- ‘No absolute tax cut for the upper class?'” Mnuchin said, “I did say that. I just want to clarify. It was never a promise. It was never a pledge. What it was and it is still, it is what the president's objective was. Now, we've been working with the bipartisan leadership. We look forward to releasing the plan this week. I think what's important about this plan is it creates a middle-income tax cut, it makes businesses competitive. And it creates jobs. That's what this is all about. And as it relates to the high end, you know, there's lots of changes. We're getting rid of lots of deductions. We're trying to get rid of state and locally deductions to get the federal government out of subsidizing it. And yes, I can tell you the current plan for many, many people, it will not reduce taxes on the high end.”

• On July 10, 2017, Mnuchin said that Republicans planned to release a unified tax proposal by the end of September and to pass a plan by the end of the year.

• On April 27, 2017, a day after the administration outlined its tax plan, Mnuchin said in an interview with ABC News that, "The details of taxes are very complicated and we're committed to working quickly and getting this done." Mnuchin said that the goal of the administration was to ensure no tax cuts for the wealthy. Mnuchin did not provide further details about the tax plan above what the administration had already released.

• During an event on April 26, 2017, in Washington, D.C., Mnuchin discussed tax policy with reporters before the release of the administration's tax plan. Mnuchin confirmed aspects of the plan, such as the corporate tax rate cut, saying that changes to the tax code would prevent, "a loophole to let rich people who should be paying higher percents pay 15 percent." Mnuchin said the tax cuts would be paid for by additional economic growth due to other economic policies of the Trump administration, and he predicted growth to be around three percent.

• On February 23, 2017, Mnuchin said that he wanted to see tax changes passed before Congress went on August recess. He said, "We want to get this done by the August recess. We've been working closely with the leadership in the House and the Senate and we're looking at a combined plan."

Trade

See also: Federal policy on trade, 2017-2020

• After meeting with German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble on March 16, 2017, Mnuchin said, “Our focus is creating economic growth that is good for the United States and for the rest of the world. It is not our desire to get into trade wars, it is our desire to deal with where there is imbalance in certain trade relations."

• On February 26, 2017, during an interview on Fox News' Sunday Morning Futures, Mnuchin said that the administration was not interested in starting trade wars with other nations. He added, "We're going to renegotiate these dollars so they're good for the American public, they're good for the American worker and they're good for American companies. And all we're looking for are fair deals where the deals work for us and they work for the other parties."

The Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal

See also: Trump administration officials on the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, 2016-2018

• On February 27, 2018, Mnuchin discussed the TPP and the administration's trade priorities. He said, "Right now the president is more focused on bilateral trades, and that's our priority and that's what we're negotiating. What the president has said is kind of when we get done with the bilaterals that we're focused on, to the extent that kind of the TPP will change, we will consider — not a question of whether they will let us back in — we will consider whether we want to go into the multilateral agreement. ... The United States is the largest trading market in the world. Everybody wants to do business in the United States. The United States has the lowest tariffs, has the lowest barriers. Every single country wants to do business in the United States. And, by the way, to the extent that we can do business with other countries on the exact same terms, OK, and our companies can be treated the exact same way, we believe in reciprocal free trade. So that's our objective."

• During an interview on CNBC on November 30, 2016, Mnuchin said that the TPP was a bad deal. He added, “And we believe in bilateral negotiations. And we will have very good deals with lots of countries.”

Donald Trump presidential transition team

See also: Donald Trump presidential transition team

Mnuchin was a member of Donald Trump's presidential transition team. The transition team was a group of around 100 aides, policy experts, government affairs officials, and former government officials who were tasked with vetting, interviewing, and recommending individuals for top Cabinet and staff roles in Trump's administration. He was a member of the team's executive committee.

2016 presidential election

Mnuchin served as the finance chairman of Donald Trump's 2016 campaign, having been appointed in May 2016. The Washington Post described Mnuchin's role in the campaign, writing, "He quickly earned Trump’s trust as he worked closely with the Republican National Committee to raise substantial amounts of money in a short period. On policy issues, he was instrumental in crafting the details of Trump’s proposal to overhaul the tax code."

Personal

Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Mnuchin married actress Louise Linton on June 24, 2017.

See also

• U.S. Department of the Treasury
• Donald Trump potential high-level administration appointments
• Donald Trump presidential transition team

External links

• U.S. Department of the Treasury

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Jack Lew	Secretary of the Treasury 2017-2021	Succeeded by -