11.30.2016

Ana Maria Archila, co-executive director of the Center for Popular Democracy, released the following statement:
"Donald Trump ran a campaign promising to restore the economy for working class Americans who'd been left behind by Wall Street and the rapacious forces of capitalism. So what does he do? He appoints Steven Mnuchin, a Hollywood financier with no experience in government, to be his Treasury Secretary. We could not imagine a pick less likely to revive the economy for the working class. He worked at Goldman Sachs for nearly two decades before moving on to the hedge fund world. He also profited off the devastating economic crisis that left most of the country reeling by purchasing a bailed-out bank at a discounted rate that went on to preside over tens of thousands of foreclosures. Like many of Trump's cabinet picks, Mnuchin would only extend the downward trajectory of fewer jobs and stagnant wages plaguing America's working class, while continuing to line the coffers of the billionaire class." 

Anthony Newby, executive director of Neighborhoods Organizing for Change, released the following statement:
"Steven Mnuchin spent decades at Goldman Sachs before he bought a deeply discounted bailed-out bank, OneWest, that went on to foreclose on tens of millions of homes, most of them in struggling Black and Latino communities. Donald Trump hoodwinked the millions of people who elected him thinking he would be able to turn around their dwindling fortunes but his Treasury Secretary pick Steven Mnuchin contradicts every statement he made on the campaign trail about lifting up struggling communities who'd been sidelined by a rigged capitalist system."

Christina Livingston, executive director of Alliance for Californians for Community Empowerment, released the following statement: 
"Trump's selection of Steve Mnuchin as Treasury Secretary is a slap in the face of Black and Latino communities and to millions who thought he would purge government of Wall Street insiders. Given his two-decade stint at Goldman Sachs and later as the CEO of two hedge funds it should come as no surprise he bought OneWest Bank for pennies on the dollar during the crisis only to foreclose on the homes of tens of millions of struggling families, particularly those in our neighborhoods. His performance at OneWest was notable for its callousness - even among greedy capitalists." 

Jonathan Westin, executive director at New York Communities for Change, released the following statement: 
"Donald Trump's appointment of Steven Mnuchin as Treasury Secretary takes the cake. This is a man who is emblematic of the billionaire class that has made sure to pay themselves and wealthy shareholders handsomely while insisting that wages couldn't be raised and jobs couldn't be created. Mnuchin, who spent his career at Goldman Sachs and in the hedge fund world, will only exacerbate the yawning wealth inequality we see in the U.S."

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The Center for Popular Democracy promotes equity, opportunity, and a dynamic democracy in partnership with innovative base-building organizations, organizing networks and alliances, and progressive unions across the country. CPD builds the strength and capacity of democratic organizations to envision and advance a pro-worker, pro-immigrant, racial justice agenda

Media Contact:  Anita Jain, ajain@populardemocracy.org, 347-636-9761