Trump Treasury Pick Is Former Goldman Sachs Partner Who Ran a Bank Accused of Racial Discrimination

Was Head of a Bank Currently Being Accused of Acts of Widespread Racial Discrimination Under His Leadership

Donald Trump’s pick to be his Secretary of the Treasury is a former Goldman Sachs partner who went on to become a Hollywood financier and the chairman of a bank currently accused of acts of alleged widespread racial discrimination under his leadership.

The New York Times was first to report that Steven Mnuchin will be Trump’s Treasury nominee. Mnuchin served as the national finance director of Trump’s presidential campaign. 

“Mr. Mnuchin’s Wall Street pedigree presents a contrast with the populist themes Mr. Trump struck in his campaign,” the Wall Street Journal notes. “Mr. Trump also repeatedly attacked his rivals in the primary and general elections for their Wall Street ties, especially those connected to Goldman Sachs.”

As NCRM reported earlier this month, Mnuchin was the chairman of OneWest, which he co-founded from the assets of failed California mortgage lender IndyMac. OneWest is currently being sued for the practice of redlining. Plaintiffs allege the bank made just two mortgages to Black customers from 2014 to 2015, and none to Black customers from 2012 to 2013. It operated 52 branches across a wide swath of Southern California.

Mnuchin bankrolled films including the “X-Men” franchise and “Avatar,” the Times reports, noting that, like Trump, the financier will soon also be married to his third wife. In August Mnuchin was appointed to Trump’s team of economic advisors, which included no actual economists. 

The Washington Post describes Mnuchin as “an industry insider with no government experience.”

Here’s Mnuchin last week:

UPDATE:
Tweet from a Washington Post economics writer: