WASHINGTON, D.C. –Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) Co-Chairs Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ) and Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), and CPC First Vice Chair Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) made the following statements after President-elect Trump nominated Steven Mnuchin as Secretary of the Department of the Treasury.
“The nomination of Steven Mnuchin – a former hedge fund manager, Goldman Sachs executive and bank CEO – to serve as Treasury Secretary flies in the face of Trump’s anti-Wall Street campaign rhetoric and all but ensures a complete erosion of Dodd-Frank,” Rep. Grijalva said. “Anyone who actually thought Trump would crack down on the big banks now knows he’d rather leave them free to govern themselves. This is just one more example of the alarming coziness between the incoming administration and business interests from across the spectrum. The American people are right to wonder whose interests they’ll have at heart when they govern.”
“For a candidate who ran on an anti-establishment platform, President-elect Trump seems absolutely committed to creating a cabinet full of billionaires and out of touch politicians,” Rep. Ellison said. “Steve Mnuchin is as far removed from the average working family as you can get – he’s a former hedge fund manager, Goldman Sachs executive, and a OneWest Bank CEO. Americans voted for change. They voted for a candidate who promised to reform Wall Street. How does the President-elect plan on cleaning up the big banks with a Treasury Secretary who helped create the 2008 housing crisis?”
“During his campaign, Donald Trump railed against Wall Street cronies for their excessive political influence, but his nomination of Steve Mnuchin, a former hedge fund manager and Goldman Sachs exec, as Secretary of the Treasury proves that his administration will be directly in the pocket of Wall Street,” said Rep. Pocan. “He capitalized on the suffering of families facing foreclosure during the financial crisis, prioritizing his own profits above the livelihoods of working class Americans. Mnuchin has repeatedly praised the risky tactics used by Wall Street bankers that caused the economic collapse. And he has continually targeted vulnerable populations and discriminated against minority groups in his drive to make a profit, including recently facing federal complaints over unfair lending practices. A man who got rich off the backs of working families during the foreclosure crisis should not be allowed anywhere near our financial regulatory system. President-elect Trump continues to show his administration only cares about the interests of Wall Street, at the expense of hard-working American families.”
The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) is the largest caucus within the House Democratic Caucus, with over 70 members standing up for progressive ideals in Washington and throughout the country. Since 1991, the CPC has advocated for progressive policies that prioritize working Americans over corporate interests, fight economic and social inequality, and promote civil liberties. The CPC champions progressive policy solutions like comprehensive immigration reform, a $15 national minimum wage, fair trade, gun violence reform, debt-free college, and making the federal government a Model Employer.
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