Steve Mnuchin in Trump Cabinet members actions and issues
On Corporations:
Partner at Goldman-Sachs; board member at three art museums
Prior to his confirmation he also served as Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of Dune Capital Management. He founded OneWest Bank Group LLC and served as its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer until its sale to CIT Group Inc. Earlier in
his career, Secretary Mnuchin worked at The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. where he was a Partner and served as Chief Information Officer. He has extensive experience in global financial markets and investments.
Secretary Mnuchin is committed to philanthropic activities and previously served as a Member of the Boards of the Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles (MOCA), the Whitney Museum of Art, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden on the Mall, the
UCLA Health System Board, the New York Presbyterian Hospital Board, and the Los Angeles Police Foundation. He was born and raised in New York City. Secretary Mnuchin holds a Bachelor's Degree from Yale University.
Source: Treasury.gov official website for Trump Cabinet biographies
Dec 31, 2018
On Tax Reform:
Implemented Trump's "Tax Cuts and Jobs Act"
As Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. Mnuchin is responsible for the U.S. Treasury, whose mission is to maintain a strong economy, foster economic growth, and create job opportunities.Secretary Mnuchin has played a pivotal role in advancing the
Administration's economic agenda, including the passage and implementation of its key legislative achievement, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. He also leads the Treasury Department's regulatory reform efforts. Secretary Mnuchin is chair of the Committee on
Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and is a member of the National Security Council. He is responsible for using economic tools to combat terrorist financing and other threats to the United States and our allies.
Prior to his
confirmation, Secretary Mnuchin was Finance Chairman for Donald J. Trump for President and traveled extensively with the President. He also served as a Senior Economic Advisor to the President in developing his economic agenda.
Source: Treasury.gov official website for Trump Cabinet biographies
Dec 31, 2018
On Free Trade:
Supports USMCA trade agreement to replace NAFTA
The USMCA is a new trade pact among the United States, Mexico and Canada, intended as a stronger and modernized replacement for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin: "The
US-Mexico-Canada deal will open markets and create economic opportunities for workers and businesses across North America. Modernizing this agreement rebalances our important trade partnerships and will boost economic growth for our three nations."
Source: White House press release "USMCA" in Trump Cabinet statement
Oct 2, 2018
On Free Trade:
Free market proponent but tariffs OK to reduce trade deficit
While colleagues describe Mnuchin as someone who believes in free markets and views trade barriers as a last resort, those close to the secretary say he has learned to appreciate President Trump's use of the threat of tariffs as a negotiating tool.
In talks with China, he has been focused on the president's desire to see the bilateral trade deficit reduced, rather than emphasizing some of the other trade barriers that many lawmakers and executives say put American companies at a disadvantage.
Source: Alan Rappeport in N. Y. Times on 2018 Trump Cabinet
Jun 3, 2018
On Tax Reform:
Bypassing congress to cut taxes on capital gains possible
Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury secretary, said in an interview on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit meeting in Argentina this month that his department was studying whether it could use its regulatory powers to allow Americans to account for
inflation in determining capital gains tax liabilities. The Treasury Department could change the definition of "cost" for calculating capital gains, allowing taxpayers to adjust the initial value of an asset, such as a home or a share of stock, for
inflation when it sells. "If it can't get done through a legislation process, we will look at what tools at Treasury we have to do it on our own and we'll consider that," Mr. Mnuchin said, emphasizing that he had not concluded whether the
Treasury Department had the authority to act alone. "We are studying that internally, and we are also studying the economic costs and the impact on growth."
Source: A.Rappeport & J.Tankersley in N. Y. Times on Trump Cabinet
Jun 3, 2018
On Free Trade:
3-part agenda: tax & regulatory relief; free & fair trade
Q: You said there is the potential of a trade war with China. How should Americans prepare for that risk?MNUCHIN: Actually, I said our expectation is that we don't think there will be a trade war. Our objective is to continue to have discussions with
China. We want to have free and fair, reciprocal trade. We're just looking for our companies and our workers to have a level playing field. And right now, we have about $500 billion of goods that we buy from China and they buy about $135 billion from us.
Q: This has caused such nervousness in the markets--
MNUCHIN: The markets have had a lot of volatility in general. The market is still up a tremendous amount since the election. The tax plan is kicking in. Our regulatory relief is
kicking in. Trade has always been the third part of our agenda. But let me just put this in perspective. If we can open up their $10 trillion economy for us to compete fairly, this is one of the single biggest opportunities long term for U.S. companies.
Source: CBS Face the Nation 2018 interviews of Trump Cabinet members
Apr 8, 2018
On Free Trade:
Free markets YES, but U.S. needs balanced trade agreements
"There's no doubt that the secretary [Steve Mnuchin] represents the president's very strong view that we believe in free trade," the [U.S. Treasury] official told reporters. "But the environment we're in now, where the expectation is America totally
subordinates its national interests in order for the free trade system to work, is just one we don't accept. So, we've been very clear, we believe in free trade with reciprocal terms that leads to more balanced trade relationships."
Source: David Lawder, Reuters News Service, on Trump Cabinet
Mar 19, 2018
On Gun Control:
Gun violence is tragedy and policy needs to be addressed
"I will say personally, I think the gun violence -- it's a tragedy what we've seen yesterday, and I'd urge Congress to look at these issues," Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said at an unrelated House hearing on the White House's fiscal year 2019
budget request. The Treasury Department [headed by Mnuchin] later told Politico that Mnuchin did not refer to whether Congress should think about changing gun laws. He was responding specifically to a question from Rep. John Lewis, D-GA, about whether
funds in the federal budget were set aside to address gun violence, the agency said.Lewis pressed Mnuchin about what the White House might do in response to the latest mass shooting in the United States. While Mnuchin acknowledged that gun
policy is "out of my lane of responsibilities," he said he would speak to President Donald Trump And other Cabinet members about the issue.
Source: CNBC's Jacob Pramuk on 2017 Trump Cabinet
Feb 15, 2018
On Health Care:
Repeal ObamaCare individual mandate for middle class tax cut
Mnuchin hit back at claims repealing ObamaCare's individual mandate was being used as a bargaining chip in tax reform negotiations between congressional Republicans. "The president thinks we should get rid of it, I think we should get rid of it," Mnuchin
told "Fox News Sunday.""I think right now our objective is to keep [the Senate's repeal of the mandate] in. It provides a big tax cut for the middle class, it gets rid of the penalty, but we are going to work with the Senate as we go through this."
Source: Naomi Lim in Washington Examiner on 2017 Trump Cabinet
Nov 19, 2017
On Tax Reform:
Mathematically impossible to avoid tax cuts on wealthy
Faced with economic analyses showing the White House plan to cut corporate and personal income taxes provides big gains for wealthy Americans, Mnuchin called that result unavoidable. "The top 20 percent of the people pay 95 percent of the taxes," the
Treasury secretary said. "The top 10 percent of the people pay 81 percent of the taxes.""So when you're cutting taxes across the board, it's very hard not to give tax cuts to the wealthy with tax cuts to the middle class," he concluded.
Source: CNBC's John Harwood on 2017 Trump Cabinet
Oct 18, 2017
On Social Security:
Focus of Presidential budget is not cutting entitlements
Speaking on Fox News' Sunday Morning Futures, Mnuchin, who has acknowledged that tax reform is his top policy priority, said the budget plan would not seek cuts to federal benefits programs known as "entitlements"."We are not touching those now.
So don't expect to see that as part of this budget, OK," Mnuchin said of the programs. "We are very focused on other aspects and that's what's very important to us. And that's the president's priority."
Source: The Guardian (UK) on 2017 Trump Cabinet
Feb 26, 2017
Page last updated: Dec 03, 2021