On Monday night, the Senate confirmed former Wall Street banker and OneWest Bank CEO Steven Mnuchin as treasury secretary on a 53-47 vote.
The only Democrat to vote for Mnuchin was Sen. Joe Manchin (W.Va.). It was a rocky road to confirmation, with consumer advocates and Democrats bringing attention to OneWest foreclosing on 36,000 homeowners during the 2008 financial crisis and Mnuchin not including $100 million in assets on his financial disclosure forms. Mnuchin, who also was a Hollywood financier, served as Trump's 2016 national campaign finance chief. "He was chosen for the loyalty to the president," Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said. "As we were working to save Americans their homes, Mr. Mnuchin, like President Trump, saw an opportunity to make a profit."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Can AI tools be used to Hollywood's advantage?Talking Points It makes some aspects of the industry faster and cheaper. It will also put many people in the entertainment world out of work
-
'Paraguay has found itself in a key position'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Meet Youngmi Mayer, the renegade comedian whose frank new memoir is a blitzkrieg to the genreThe Week Recommends 'I'm Laughing Because I'm Crying' details a biracial life on the margins, with humor as salving grace
-
Boeing machinists approve contract, end strikeSpeed Read The company's largest union approved the new contract offer, ending a seven-week strike
-
US economy still strong in final preelection reportSpeed Read It grew at a solid 2.8% annual rate from July through September
-
Boeing machinists reject deal, continue strikeSpeed Read The rejection came the same day Boeing reported a $6.2 billion quarterly loss
-
Ports reopen after dockworkers halt strikeSpeed Read The 36 ports that closed this week, from Maine to Texas, will start reopening today
-
Empty-nest boomers aren't selling their big homesSpeed Read Most Americans 60 and older do not intend to move, according to a recent survey
-
Brazil accuses Musk of 'disinformation campaign'Speed Read A Brazilian Supreme Court judge has opened an inquiry into Elon Musk and X
-
Disney board fends off Peltz infiltration bidSpeed Read Disney CEO Bob Iger has defeated activist investor Nelson Peltz in a contentious proxy battle
-
Disney and DeSantis reach detenteSpeed Read The Florida governor and Disney settle a yearslong litigation over control of the tourism district
