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Goldman Sachs Veteran Steven Mnuchin Named Trump’s National Finance Chairman

By Pam Wright
Published on: 07:41 PST, May 5, 2016

Goldman Sachs veteran and Wall Street hedge fund manager Steven Mnuchin has been named Donald Trump’s national finance minister.

Trump turned to his former Goldman Sachs partner to head up his finances for the presidential campaign despite the criticism he has made along the campaign trail about Sen. Ted Cruz’ connections to the bank, according to Market Watch.

In a statement, Trump called his former business associate “a professional at the highest level with an extensive and very successful financial background.”

“He brings unprecedented experience and expertise to a fundraising operation that will benefit the Republican Party and ultimately defeat Hillary Clinton.”

The two men have known each other for 15 years and have done business together, Mnuchin told Bloomberg Politics, and said Trump’s appeal is unique.

“He’s bringing a lot of people into the party who have not been part of the party in the past. Donald’s appeal is way beyond the traditional political candidates, and what he stands for and represents is a completely new approach.”

Despite his former business relationship with Mnuchin, Trump has lambasted his Democratic counterparts for their ties to Goldman Sachs.

In one debate, Donald Trump claimed executives at Goldman Sachs had control over not only Ted Cruz, whose wife also works for the bank, but Hillary Clinton.

“I know the guys at Goldman Sachs. They have total, total control over him. Just like they have total control over Hillary Clinton.”

A registered Republican, Mnuchin is currently the chairman and chief executive officer of Dune Capital Management.

Trump is not the only candidate to turn to a former Goldman Sachs executive to oversee campaign finances.

Gary Gensler, a former high-ranking Goldman Sachs officer, is Clinton’s chief financial officer. Clinton has been widely attacked for paid speeches she has made to Goldman Sachs.

According to Raw Story, Trump said on Wednesday he will begin to raise money for his general election bid. He has, thus far, funded the majority of his campaign with his own money.

While Trump has touted that he refuses to raise money for his campaign, he has apparently had a change of heart and his decision to bring on the former Goldman Sachs partner is his first step in dropping that policy.

According to Raw Story, political parties historically depend on “the ability of their nominee to raise money in order to fund their other operations, including working to elect members of the House and Senate.”

In moving forward and in the footsteps of his predecessors, Trump said he will work closely with the Republican National Committee to raise funds for his own campaign and those of other members of the party for the November election.

According to The Week magazine, Trump said he will work with the former Goldman Sachs executive to create a “world-class finance organization” to actively raise funds to compete with Hillary Clinton’s fundraising powerhouse.

Trump reportedly praised Mnuchin, saying the Goldman Sachs alum will bring the necessary financial experience to what’s expected to be a $1 billion campaign.

According to Buzzfeed News, Trump is likely to further aggravate his conservative critics by hiring the former Goldman Sachs executive. Those critics have accused Trump of putting on a Republican face while espousing a largely Democratic policy.

[Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images for City Harvest]

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