Mnuchin Picks For Top Treasury Positions Fail Trump’s Loyalty Test
Image by Getty Images
By Nathan Guttman March 9, 2017
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is having a hard time filling top positions in his office.
The reason does not rest in Treasury becoming, all of a sudden, less attractive to aspiring politicians and top financial minds, but rather in Mnuchin’s picks lacking one key quality – loyalty to President Donald Trump.
According to reports in Bloomberg and Axios many of the names offered by Mnuchin to fill senior Treasury positions were shot down by Trump’s White House.
Among the top picks that Mnuchin failed to pass are one who was posted critical tweets about Trump and another who did not pass the vetting because he donated to Hillary Clinton’s campaign.
Is Mnuchin being too liberal with his picks or is the White House micromanaging the staffing process?
Probably the latter. Mnuchin, who comes with Wall Street and Hollywood background may be close to more liberal figures than others in the Trump administration, but the problem is shared by other cabinet secretaries as well, including Rex Tillerson at the State Department and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, both known for their conservative views.
Contact Nathan Guttman at [email protected] or on Twitter @nathanguttman
Did you know that only 2% of Forward readers donate to support our nonprofit newsroom? That 2% make it possible for millions to read the Forward without a paywall or subscription — removing any barriers to the full and fair Jewish story.
But while the Forward is free to read, it isn’t free to produce. Big stories — like deep dives into the antisemitism data, political scoops or reporting trips to college campuses — take months of research and fact-checking. All while we keep you informed of what you need to know each day.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Forward Publisher & CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
