Published: January 2017

The ‘Foreclosure King’ is an unfit choice to run the U.S. Treasury

President-Elect Trump’s nominee for the U.S. Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin, is unfit to serve in one of government’s most important positions. Mnuchin, a former Goldman Sachs partner and hedge fund operator who has never held public office before, earned the nickname the “Foreclusre King” due to unethical practices he oversaw during the housing crisis while owner of OneWest Bank. Over the past decade, this country has seen the disastrous economic results of policies that permit the wealthiest and most powerful institutions and individuals in our society to engage in predatory financial practices that devastate ordinary American families. Government cannot afford to cater to the wealthiest special interests and the Senate should oppose a nominee with Mnuchin’s record.

In preparation for his confirmation hearing, coalition advocates penned a letter urging senators to oppose the nomination of Steven Mnuchin as Secretary of Treasury. The growing and widespread criticism of Mnuchin is well earned and his specific record as a banker and financier raises especially serious concerns. In addition to owning OneWest, the bank that foreclosed on more seniors and widowers than any other during the housing crisis, Mnuchin failed to disclose nearly $100 million of his assets on Senate Finance Committee disclosure documents and forgot to mention his role as a director of an investment fund located in a tax haven.

The Treasury Secretary must act in the interest of all Americans and not serve as an inside-the-government representative of the wealthiest special interests in our society. Confirming a nominee with Mnuchin’s record would show the Senate approves of the same greedy practices that spurred the recession that devastated Americans less than a decade ago.

Lead Organization

Americans for Financial Reform (AFR)

Other Organizations

AFL-CIO | Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment Action | Allied Progress | American Family Voices | American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) | American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO | California Reinvestment Coalition | Center for Corporate Responsibility | Center for Popular Democracy Action | CFED | Communications Workers of America | Consumer Action | Consumer Federation of America | Courage Campaign | CREDO | Daily Kos | Democracy for America | Free Press Action Fund | Institute for Policy Studies, Global Economy Project | Juma Ventures | The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights | Main Street Alliance | Media Voices for Children | NAACP Washington Bureau | National Association of Consumer Advocates | National Center for Lesbian Rights | National Fair Housing Alliance | NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice | New York Communities for Change | Other98 Action | People's Action | Public Citizen | Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association | ReFund America Project | Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center | The Rootstrikers project at Demand Progress | Strong Economy For All Coalition | UNITE HERE | U.S. PIRG | Woodstock Institute | Working America | Working Families Party

More Information

For more information, visit Americans for Financial Reform.

Download PDF

The ‘Foreclosure King’ is an unfit choice to run the U.S. Treasury   (Letterfrom42OrganizationsOpposingStevenMnuchinasSecretaryoftheTreasury.pdf)