President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for Treasury secretary is stepping down from the board at Sears, according to a new report.
Steve Mnuchin, 53, has been on the Sears Holding Corp. board for more than 11 years.
{mosads}The Associated Press said Friday Mnuchin, who served as national finance chairman for Trump’s campaign, roomed with Sears Chairman and CEO Eddie Lampert at Yale University in New Haven, Conn. Sears, which is based in Hoffman Estates, Ill., added Mnuchin’s departure reduces the size of its board to nine members.
Mnuchin confirmed early Wednesday Trump has chosen him to lead the Department of Treasury. The former Goldman Sachs partner lacks past political experience but has extensive ties to Hollywood and Wall Street instead.
Mnuchin worked at Goldman Sachs for 17 years before founding the investment firm Dune Capital Management in 2004 and OneWest Bank Group LLC in 2009. The financier has also left his mark on the entertainment industry, having helped bankroll movies like “Batman v. Superman” and “Suicide Squad.”
Trump has set an ambitious economic agenda for Mnuchin and potential Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross if both men are confirmed.
The president-elect wants tax code reform, infrastructure investments, renegotiated trade deals and eased financial regulations upon entering office.
Trump repeatedly campaigned on upending establishment politics, promising to “drain the swamp” of entrenched lawmakers and their wealthy special interests.
Democrats have pounced on Mnuchin, however, arguing he embodies the very Wall Street insiders Trump derided.
Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) on Wednesday released a rare joint statement hammering Mnuchin.
“This pick makes clear that Donald Trump wants to cater to the same Wall Street executives that have hurt working families time and again,” they said.