Former Hollywood financier, board member of bankrupt firm Relativity Media and Goldman Sachs partner Steve Mnuchin has been confirmed as the nation’s Treasury Secretary.
The U.S. Senate voted 53 to 47 on Monday to hand over the Treasury Department to Mnuchin, who will oversee the country’s financial affairs including currency and tax collection, Deadline reported.
Mnuchin said last month he would divest his interest in 42 companies including AT&T, Comcast, iHeart Communications and Dune Capital Entertainment if confirmed.
One of the first things on his agenda will be the April 15 deadline to classify China as a currency manipulator, something President Donald Trump vowed to do during his campaign. His department will have until early June to recommend changes to Dodd-Frank and the Consumer Protection Act. Mnuchin has said he plans to roll back these regulations.
Democrats staunchly opposed his nomination, saying the former head of OneWest bank used questionable tactics to aggressively foreclose on homeowners during his tenure from 2008 to 2015. They said he also failed to disclose all of his assets to the Senate Finance Committee.
Mnuchin, Trump’s former campaign finance chairman, served 17 years at Goldman Sachs. Trump heavily criticized Democractic nominee Hillary Clinton for her ties to the same bank, during last year’s election. Mnuchin’s detractors in the Senate, chief among them Elizabeth Warren, expressed concern that Mnuchin would put Wall Street’s interests first.
“If Wall Street threatens to blow up the economy again, does anyone seriously expect Steve Mnuchin to tell his buddies to knock it off?” Warren tweeted Monday.
Mnuchin is said to be considering Jim Donovan, another Goldman alum, for Deputy Treasury Secretary, according to Deadline. [Deadline] — Subrina Hudson