Trump names treasury, commerce nominees

President-elect Donald Trump made two more top-level Cabinet nominations this morning, announcing former Goldman Sachs executive Steven Mnuchin as treasury secretary and billionaire investor Wilbur Ross as commerce secretary.

Following the announcement, Mnuchin said reforming the nation’s tax code would be his top priority, echoing a recurring theme of Trump’s campaign. Mnuchin said the middle class would see significant tax cuts under the proposed plan while wealthy taxpayers would continue to contribute at current levels.

“There will be no absolute tax cut for the upper class,” he said.

But Trump’s tax plan does include slashing the corporate tax rate to 15 percent, a move conservatives say will boost U.S. businesses and create jobs. While analysts say the Trump plan could add as much as $6 trillion to the federal deficit over the next decade, Mnuchin insists they don’t take into account the economic benefits the tax cuts will generate.

Mnuchin, 53, was a member of Trump’s campaign, leading its finance operations. But he has little government experience and deep ties to Wall Street. He spent 17 years at Goldman Sachs before leaving to start a hedge fund, Dune Capital Management. He’s also contributed to both Republican and Democratic political candidates, including Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama.

In 2009, Mnuchin put together a group of big investors, including billionaire George Soros, to buy the California mortgage lender IndyMac. The bank, renamed OneWest Bank, earned a reputation for being quick to foreclose on struggling homeowners.

Trump touted Mnuchin’s financial experience in announcing his nomination: “Steve Mnuchin is a world-class financier, banker and businessman, and has played a key role in developing our plan to build a dynamic, booming economy that will create millions of jobs.”

Ross, 79, is known in the business world as a turnaround specialist. He helped Trump resurrect his casino business in the early 1990s and specializes in buying troubled companies. His philosophy focuses on management, claiming too many failing industries blame their decline on outside forces rather than evaluating the need for internal changes.

“Wilbur knows that cutting taxes for working families, reducing burdensome government regulations and unleashing America’s energy resources will strengthen our economy at a time when our country needs to see significant growth,” Trump said.

The president-elect made two other announcements this morning. First, he lauded an agreement with air conditioner manufacturer Carrier Corp. to keep 1,000 jobs in Indiana. The company announced during the presidential campaign it planned to move up to 2,000 jobs to Mexico. Trump made the company a stump speech talking point, claiming the United States needed to improve its business climate to prevent companies from relocating American jobs.

In a simultaneous announcement, Trump said he had lawyers working on documents to transfer control of his business empire to his three children, a change he pledged to make during the campaign. Critics say that’s not enough to avoid conflict-of-interest problems, but the Constitution does not require the president to separate from business interests.