President-elect Donald Trump will name longtime banker and
former Goldman Sachs executive Steven Mnuchin as Treasury
secretary, turning to a campaign loyalist and fundraiser for the
incoming administration's top economic cabinet post, a transition
official said Tuesday.
Mr. Mnuchin, 53, played a behind-the-scenes role in Mr. Trump's
election, helping oversee the creation of a network of small donors
that let the campaign compete successfully against the
better-funded Hillary Clinton operation.
Mr. Mnuchin's longtime Wall Street ties—his father spent his
entire career at Goldman—make him a traditional pick for the
Treasury spot. But the choice is at odds with Mr. Trump's message
that economic and political elites have left the country damaged.
Still, his establishment profile may sit more comfortably with the
Republicans in the Senate, which decides whether to confirm the
nominee.
Leaving Trump Tower in New York on Tuesday night, Mr. Mnuchin,
asked about the appointment, declined to comment. "I'll talk about
it tomorrow," he said.
The president-elect also is expected to name Wilbur Ross Jr. as
his Commerce secretary nominee, a transition official said Tuesday,
selecting a fellow businessman.
Also on Tuesday, Mr. Trump selected candidates for two other
cabinet agencies: former Labor Secretary Elaine Chao at
Transportation, and Rep. Tom Price (R., Ga.) as Health and Human
Services secretary.
The choice of Mr. Mnuchin is a contrast to another figure who
had been considered, Rep. Jeb Hensarling, a tea-party favorite.
He's a free-market Republican from Texas who is chairman of the
House Financial Services Committee and has been a key advocate of
overturning the Dodd-Frank financial-overhaul law.
Mr. Trump, who has mostly populated his administration with
supporters, would be getting in Mr. Mnuchin someone with a history
of donating more money to Democrats than Republicans. He
nonetheless signed onto Mr. Trump's campaign and took the post of
national finance chairman, to the chagrin of some top Clinton
fundraisers.
If confirmed by the Senate, Mr. Mnuchin will join a list of
prominent bankers who made similar moves from Wall Street to
Washington, including two of his former bosses at Goldman, Henry
Paulson and Robert Rubin, who were both top Goldman executives
before joining the department.
The Treasury secretary is the chief navigator of the nation's
economy, overseeing the collection of taxes, the imposition of
foreign sanctions, managing the public debt and serving as the
chief connection between the administration and the financial
markets and the business community.
In a sense, Mr. Mnuchin and Mr. Trump have now both taken
chances on each other.
When Mr. Mnuchin signed on to the Trump campaign, some of
Hillary Clinton's major fundraisers said they were stunned and
annoyed.
Mr. Mnuchin has given mostly to Democrats in recent years. He
gave the maximum $2,300 to Mrs. Clinton's presidential primary bid
in 2007. When her campaign failed, he donated the maximum to
then-Sen. Barack Obama's presidential run. Mr. Mnuchin also has
given to several other Democratic presidential campaigns over the
years, including those of John Edwards, John Kerry and Al Gore.
Mr. Trump elevated Mr. Mnuchin to national finance chairman and
has leaned heavily on him during the transition. Now Mr. Trump is
taking his loyalty to Mr. Mnuchin a giant step further, giving him
control over broad swaths of the nation's economy. When Mr. Trump
is sworn in Jan. 20, the success of his presidency will rest as
much in Mr. Mnuchin's hands as those of any other presidential
appointee.
Uncertainty still surrounds the most prestigious cabinet post:
secretary of state. Filling the position has become a high-drama
affair that has left Mr. Trump's team divided. A pair of top
candidates met privately with Mr. Trump on Tuesday: U.S. Sen. Bob
Corker, a Tennessee Republican who is chairman of the Foreign
Relations Committee; and Mitt Romney, a former Republican
presidential nominee who feuded with Mr. Trump during the GOP
primaries this year.
Some Trump aides have said Mr. Romney's outspoken opposition
during the race should disqualify him from getting a plum cabinet
post, but Mr. Trump has kept Mr. Romney under active consideration.
The two met for dinner together on Tuesday night at the Trump
International Hotel & Tower in Mr. Romney's second meeting with
the president-elect.
After the dinner, Mr. Romney sounded a note of contrition,
saying he thinks "you're going to see America continue to lead the
world in this century. What I've seen through these discussions
I've had with President-elect Trump, as well as what we've seen in
his speech the night of his victory, as well as the people he's
selected as part of his transition, all of those things combined
give me increasing hope that President-elect Trump is the very man
who can lead us to that better future."
A former Massachusetts governor, Mr. Romney made an ill-fated
foreign trip during his unsuccessful presidential bid in 2012. He
met with leaders in the U.K., Israel and Poland and spoke publicly
about top foreign-policy concerns such as Iran and
Israeli-Palestinian peace.
The most memorable moment of his trip, however, was his
statement in London suggesting the city wasn't ready to host the
Olympics. The comment from Mr. Romney, who rescued the financially
troubled 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, drew a searing
rebuke from the city's then-mayor, Boris Johnson. Mr. Johnson is
now the U.K.'s foreign minister and would be Mr. Romney's
counterpart if he becomes secretary of state.
Yet Mr. Romney is now seen as pinpointing early on one of the
biggest looming collisions on the world stage: the U.S. and
Russia.
During the 2012 campaign Mr. Romney said Russia was the biggest
geopolitical threat facing the U.S. President Barack Obama and his
aides laughed at the GOP nominee, saying his remark showed how
little he understood about the world.
Mr. Corker, meantime, said his meeting with Mr. Trump Tuesday
was "an honor."
"We had a very wide ranging meeting, actually a couple meetings
and his instincts on foreign policy are obviously very, very good,"
he said.
He added: "I know he has a number of outstanding individuals
that he's talking with. I was glad to be here and glad to see more
fully some of what his views about the world are."
Two weeks after the election, Mr. Trump is making appointments
at a swifter pace than prior administrations.
Many candidates have been arriving at Trump Tower in full view
of the news media, disappearing into the gold elevators for their
interviews with Mr. Trump, and then reappearing in the lobby to
offer their views to the media.
Passing through the lobby Tuesday afternoon was Vice
President-elect Mike Pence, who told reporters to "stay tuned" for
more appointments. "It's going to be a busy week," Mr. Pence
said.
He added: "I think the American people are seeing the leadership
and the energy that our president-elect is going to bring to the
White House."
The picks announced Tuesday extend an olive branch from Trump
Tower to Capitol Hill. Mr. Price is a close ally—and friend—of
House Speaker Paul Ryan (R., Wis.) Ms. Chao, who served as labor
secretary for all eight years of Republican President George W.
Bush's administration, is married to Senate Majority Leader Mitch
McConnell (R., Ky.).
Mr. Price, if confirmed by the Senate, will preside over an
agency that likely would try to dismantle President Barack Obama's
signature health-care overhaul assuming congressional Republicans
repeal the law.
After a postelection period holed up at various Trump properties
in New York, New Jersey and Florida, Mr. Trump is about to embark
on a campaign-style "thank you" tour of states that were crucial to
his victory.
His first stop will be a sports arena in Cincinnati on Thursday,
his transition team said. He will be joined at the rally by Mr.
Pence, who is also scheduled to hold an event in New Orleans on
Saturday.
Michael C. Bender, Carol E. Lee and Rebecca Ballhaus contributed
to this article.
Write to Peter Nicholas at peter.nicholas@wsj.com and Carol E.
Lee at carol.lee@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 30, 2016 02:45 ET (07:45 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
BB and T (NYSE:BBT)
Historical Stock Chart
From Aug 2024 to Sep 2024
BB and T (NYSE:BBT)
Historical Stock Chart
From Sep 2023 to Sep 2024