Last updated on July 17th, 2023 at 09:59 pm
Remember when Hillary Clinton’s opponents repeatedly said during the campaign that she would be a Wall Street shill, while Donald Trump would represent the “forgotten men and women” of Main Street?
Those folks were proven wrong in a big way on Monday.
In a 53-47 vote, the U.S. Senate confirmed Steve Mnuchin – former Goldman Sach’s executive and a man who earned the title “foreclosure king” – to lead Trump’s Treasury Department. According to the Associated Press, he was sworn in a short time ago.
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BREAKING: Former banker Steven Mnuchin sworn in as treasury secretary.
— The Associated Press (@AP) February 14, 2017
Mnuchin spent 17 years at Goldman Sach’s before eventually taking over OneWest bank, where he was “responsible for attempting to remove families from their homes against the families’ wills.” According to Fortune, Mnuchin’s net worth totals as much as $500 million.
Drain the swamp!
Mnuchin taking over the key post is just the latest indication that the new administration – led by a con man who promised to stand up for the working class during the campaign – will be Wall Street’s best friend.
Just over a week ago, in fact, Trump signed an executive order rolling back Dodd-Frank, which was signed by former President Barack Obama in 2010 and meant to keep the U.S. financial system in check and avoid another devastating economic crisis.
While millions of Americans – a majority, in fact – didn’t trust Trump’s repeated claims that he would be a blue collar champion, enough voters in three rust belt states gave him the benefit of the doubt. The new president is returning the favor by filling his cabinet with billionaires and pursuing policies that will largely benefit those at the very top of the economic ladder.
The actions Trump has taken during his first three weeks as president – as well as the people he’s chosen, like Mnuchin, to lead key departments in his administration – prove he never had any intention of fighting for the little guy.
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
