Republicans Suspend Rules to Keep Mnuchin Nomination Moving
Image by Getty Images
By Nathan Guttman February 1, 2017
Steve Mnuchin is headed to the Treasury with or without approval of Senate Democrats.
On Wednesday, the Senate Finance Committee gave the Jewish financier the green light toward his confirmation as Treasury Secretary in Donald Trump’s cabinet. The approval was given to Mnuchin outside the committee’s regular procedure after Senate Democrats boycotted the meeting for the second day in a row.
The Committee’s chair, Senator Orin Hatch of Utah, made the unusual move of suspending the rules, allowing members to vote on Mnuchin without Democrats present. Unsurprisingly, all remaining Republicans voted in favor of the Wall Street banker, sending him to the Senate floor with a 14 to 0 vote.
Mnuchin is expected to easily win the approval of the Senate, which is controlled by Republicans. Mnuchin will replace Jack Lew, Obama’s Treasury secretary, who is also Jewish.
During his hearings, Mnuchin faced Democratic criticism for failing to disclose $100 million in assets; for operating an investment fund in a tax haven and for what they perceived as predatory practices during the foreclosure crisis, when he ran a bank.
Contact Nathan Guttman at [email protected]
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
