BusinessDonald TrumpElections 2016Goldman Sachs

Donald Trump Reportedly Wants An Ex-Goldman Exec To Be Treasury Secretary

Take that, establishment!
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By 

Business Reporter, HuffPost

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Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
Carlo Allegri / Reuters

Donald Trump, the political outsider running a renegade campaign for president, has a fresh idea about who should head the Treasury Department: an ex-Goldman Sachs executive.

Fortune’s Dan Primack reports that Anthony Scaramucci, a Trump fundraiser and hedge fund salesman, says Trump has told potential donors that if he is elected he wants to nominate Steve Mnuchin, his campaign’s finance chairman, to be Treasury secretary.

Mnuchin is the co-CEO and co-founder of Dune Capital Management, a hedge fund. He worked at Goldman Sachs for 17 years and left in 2002. Mnuchin’s father, Robert, was a partner at Goldman Sachs before retiring to run an art gallery. In 2004, Steve started Dune Capital with funding from George Soros, the progressive trader, philanthropist and boogeyman to conservative conspiracy theorists everywhere.

If hiring a former Goldman Sachs executive to run fundraising efforts was an odd choice for Trump, who’d bragged that self-funding his campaign made him immune to special interests, then daydreaming about appointing the same person Treasury secretary ― presumably to woo donors ― only amplifies the absurdity. In truth, Trump was never fully self-funding his presidential bid, and his campaign staff is increasingly stocked with lobbyists.

Were Mnuchin appointed secretary of the Treasury, he’d be the third Goldman alum to hold the post. Robert Rubin served as secretary for four years during the Clinton administration, and Hank Paulson spent the last two and a half years of George W. Bush’s presidency in the position.

Trump has previously said that activist investor Carl Icahn, a pioneer of the hostile takeover in the 1980s, would be his Treasury secretary. Icahn initially declined Trump’s offer before deciding that actually, he would like to run the Treasury in a Trump administration.

Scaramucci did not respond to a request for comment.

Editor’s note: Donald Trump regularly incites political violence and is a serial liar, rampant xenophobe, racist, misogynist and birther who has repeatedly pledged to ban all Muslims ― 1.6 billion members of an entire religion ― from entering the U.S.

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Before You Go

Republicans Who Have Refused To Back Donald Trump
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney(01 of17)
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"I simply can’t put my name down as someone who voted for principles that suggest racism or xenophobia, misogyny, bigotry, [for someone] who’s been vulgar time and time again,” Romney said in June. “I don’t want to be associated with that in any way, shape or form.” (credit:Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Sen. Ben Sasse (Neb.)(02 of17)
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"I’m as frustrated and saddened as you are about what’s happening to our country. But I cannot support Donald Trump," he wrote in February. (credit:SAUL LOEB via Getty Images)
Former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson(03 of17)
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“When it comes to the presidency, I will not vote for Donald Trump,” Paulson, who served as Treasury secretary under George W. Bush, wrote in a Washington Post op-ed in June. (credit:Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush(04 of17)
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“Donald Trump has not demonstrated that temperament or strength of character. He has not displayed a respect for the Constitution. And, he is not a consistent conservative. These are all reasons why I cannot support his candidacy,” Bush wrote in a Facebook post in May. (credit:Mark Makela via Getty Images)
Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.)(05 of17)
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The South Carolina senator told CNN in May he would not vote for Trump or Clinton in September.

"I don't believe that Donald Trump has the temperament and judgment to be commander in chief. I think Donald Trump is going to places where very few people have gone and I'm not going with him," he said. (credit:Tom Williams via Getty Images)
Former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage(06 of17)
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“If Donald Trump is the nominee, I would vote for Hillary Clinton,” Armitage told Politico in June. "He doesn't appear to be a Republican, he doesn't appear to want to learn about issues. So, I’m going to vote for Mrs. Clinton.”
 (credit:BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI via Getty Images)
Former National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft(07 of17)
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“Secretary Clinton shares my belief that America must remain the world’s indispensable leader. She understands that our leadership and engagement beyond our borders makes the world, and therefore the United States more secure and prosperous,” he said in a statement. (credit:Mark Wilson via Getty Images)
Sen. Mark Kirk (Ill.)(08 of17)
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Earlier this month, the Illinois Republican, who is locked in a tough re-election battle, rescinded his endorsement of Trump. He is also running ads against Trump.

"I cannot and will not support my party’s nominee for President,” he said. (credit:Bill Clark via Getty Images)
Sen. Jeff Flake (Ariz.)(09 of17)
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“As of now, unless he changes significantly, I can’t see myself voting for Donald Trump,” Flake said in June. (credit:Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Rep. Bob Dold (Ill.)(10 of17)
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"For me, I will not support Donald Trump. Certainly I think there are others that have some pretty significant reservations," the Illinois congressman told WLS in May. “I want to make that I’m clear about this, I’m not going to support Hillary Clinton either. I would write someone in.” (credit:Tom Williams via Getty Images)
Rep. Carlos Curbelo (Fla.)(11 of17)
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“I have no plans of supporting either of the presumptive nominees," he told the Miami Herald in May. (credit:Tom Williams via Getty Images)
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (Fla.)(12 of17)
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“"In this election, I do not support either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton," Ros-Lehtinen told the Miami Herald in May. (credit:Bill Clark via Getty Images)
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine)(13 of17)
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Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) said in August she could not vote for Trump because he "does not reflect historical Republican values, nor the inclusive approach to governing that is critical to healing the divisions in our country." (credit:Yuri Gripas / Reuters)
Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.)(14 of17)
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Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) has said he can’t envision himself voting for Trump at this time. “I’ll give him a chance, but at this point, I have no intentions of voting for him,” he said in June. (REUTERS/Enrique de la Osa) (credit:Enrique de la Osa / Reuters)
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas)(15 of17)
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Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has not said explicitly that he would not vote for Trump. But in a speech at the GOP convention in Cleveland last month, Cruz urged delegates to vote their conscience “up and down the ticket,” signaling his opposition to the nominee. (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst) (credit:Jonathan Ernst / Reuters)
Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah)(16 of17)
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Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) has not offered his endorsement yet. While he has signaled his obvious displeasure ― earlier this year he said Trump scared him “to death” ― he could come around in the future if he “heard the right things out of him.” (REUTERS/Carlo Allegri) (credit:Carlo Allegri / Reuters)
Former Under Secretary Of State For Public Diplomacy James Glassman,(17 of17)
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Glassman, who served as under secretary of state for public diplomacy to President George W. Bush said Hillary Clinton was “by far the superior candidate." (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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