House Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) told CNN Friday he’d be open to discussing joining the Trump administration as Treasury Secretary.
“We would have the conversation if the phone rang,” said Hensarling, who’s reportedly being considered for the job. “Like any job interview, you’d want to what’s expected of you and how it would all work out.”
Hensarling said he’d be “honored” to discuss the job with President-elect Trump, and said so much that he has worked on as head of the committee could become reality under a GOP-controlled Congress and White House.
Much of Trump’s financial reform agenda mirrors Hensarling’s priorities. The Texas congressman’s broad Dodd-Frank replacement could serve as a template for Trump, and the president-elect’s transition website borrows almost exact talking points from Hensarling.
Even so, Trump’s planned “dismantle” of the major post-recession financial reform law could be less sweeping than originally thought, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Trump’s transition team is planning to scrap a handful of Dodd-Frank’s most influential parts instead of a full repeal, sources familiar with the plan told the Journal.
Trump’s administration would focus on scrapping the Financial Oversight Stability Council’s ability to label banks “systemically important financial institutions (SIFI),” nicknamed “too big to fail.” That label subjects banks to tougher Federal Reserve oversight, along with stricter capital and stability standards.
The administration would also target Title II of Dodd-Frank, which allows the federal government to take over and liquidate failing financial firms. This was created as a means to avoid another federal bailout of crumbling banks.
Republicans insist Title II isn’t much different than a bailout, and prefer failing banks liquidate their assets through bankruptcy.
Trump campaign finance chairman and former Goldman Sachs partner Steven Mnuchin and JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon are also being considered for Treasury Secretary.