Tag: Steve Mnuchin

A Russian Oligarch Bought Maryland’s Election Vendor. Now These Senators Are Questioning the Rules

The following article by Niels Lesniewski was posted on the Roll Call website August 20, 2018:

Letter to Rules Committee follows request to Treasury Secretary Mnuchin

Sens. Chris Van Hollen and Benjamin L. Cardin are concerned about Russian ownership of a Maryland election contractor. Credit: Tom Williams, CQ Roll Call file photo

Maryland’s Democratic senators want a Senate committee to require disclosures of foreign investments in U.S. election systems, an alarm bell set off by a Russian oligarch’s connection to their state’s voter registration system.

The request to the Rules and Administration Committee comes from Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin and Sen. Chris Van Hollen. Van Hollen is also the chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

The Maryland senators have been alarmed by a Russian oligarch’s investment connection to ByteGrid LLC, which handles the Old Line State’s voter registration database and candidate management operations.

View the complete article here.

Multi-Millionaire Steve Mnuchin Takes Care Of His Own

The following article by David Cay Johnston was posted on the DCReport.org website July 31, 2018:

Treasury Secretary Plans Another Tax Giveaway for the One Percent

The swamp monster who Donald Trump chose as Treasury secretary has a plan to save the richest of the rich billions and billions in taxes – and without any vote by Congress, either.

Steve Mnuchin, a former Goldman Sachser and later California banker who grew rich exploiting the housing crisis, revealed the plan to The New York Times while in Argentina for the G-20 meeting of the world’s richest countries.

The plan would radically increase the concentration of wealth in America, accelerating a trend that will be explained below with some shocking numbers. And it comes as the Trump administration, reneging on campaign promises, is floating proposals to cut Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security as well as using subtle means to scuttle the Affordable Care Act.

View the complete article here.

On Meet the Press, Steve Mnuchin dismisses Trump’s attacks against media figures as “funny moments”

The following article by the Media Matters staff was posted on the Media Matters for America website March 11, 2018:

From the March 11 edition of NBC’s Meet the Press:

CHUCK TODD (HOST): Alright, I understand you wanted to get back on an economic message but the president of the United States in the past has been a beacon of freedom of the press. Instead, last night, he was praising authoritarian figures in China and North Korea and encouraging boos of the American press. Does this mean this American president is no longer going to be preaching about the values of freedom of the press and democracy around the world?

STEVE MNUCHIN: Of course, he believes in freedom of the press and democracy around the world. And he believes more importantly in protecting democracy around the world. And that’s what we should be focused on, a week of policies. And as I said before — Continue reading “On Meet the Press, Steve Mnuchin dismisses Trump’s attacks against media figures as “funny moments””

Senate Democrats Ask Why Trump Let Russian Spy Chief Into United States

The following article by Niels Lesniewski was posted on the Roll Call website January 30, 2018:

Also question Treasury secretary on Russia sanctions implementation

Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, pressed Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin about Russian sanctions Tuesday. Credit: Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call

Leading Senate Democrats want to know why the Trump administration allowed a top Russian spy onto U.S. soil.

Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer led other Democrats in raising concerns Tuesday about a reported visit by Sergey Naryshkin, Russia’s foreign spy chief and an ally of President Vladimir Putin.

“The Trump administration must immediately come clean and answer questions: Which U.S. officials did he meet with? Did any White House or National Security Council official meet with Naryshkin? What did they discuss?” Schumer said. Continue reading “Senate Democrats Ask Why Trump Let Russian Spy Chief Into United States”

Treasury Secretary Mnuchin’s weak-dollar myopia is dangerous

The following article by Benjamin J. Cohen, Professor of International Political Economy at the University of California/Santa Barbara, was posted on the Conversation website January 25, 2018:

Credit: AP

Breaking with long-standing tradition, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin endorsed the weakening of the dollar as “good” for the United States.

Speaking during a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 24, Mnuchin said: “Obviously, a weaker dollar is good for us as it relates to trade and opportunities.”

The reaction was swift. The greenback dropped like a stone as news of his comments spread, hitting a three-year low in currency markets.

Never before in living memory has one of America’s top economic officials spoken in favor of a weaker dollar. The president himself dove into the mix by reassuring nervous investors after he arrived in Davos that he does, in fact, favor a stronger dollar. Continue reading “Treasury Secretary Mnuchin’s weak-dollar myopia is dangerous”

While you weren’t looking: 5 stories from the Trump administration that aren’t about “shitholes”

The following article by A.P. Joyce was posted on the mic.com website January 12, 2018:

Credit: Shutterstock

This week the media was roiled by the revelation that the president of the United States argued against accepting immigrants from what he reportedly called “shithole countries” in Central America, Africa and the Caribbean, arguing instead for more immigrants from countries like Norway.

But as the nation struggled to define what constitutes overt white nationalism, Trump’s cabinet continued to make drastic policy changes that will affect millions of Americans. Here’s what you might have missed. Continue reading “While you weren’t looking: 5 stories from the Trump administration that aren’t about “shitholes””

New tax guidelines rely on workers to double-check their paychecks

The following article by Damian Paletta was posted on the Washington Post website January 11, 2018:

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Jan. 11 said the IRS will release a “new withholding calculator” as part of the implementation of the GOP tax bill. (Reuters)

Millions of Americans will need to use a new Internal Revenue Service online calculator to ensure their new paychecks are accurate, Trump administration officials said Thursday as they issued guidelines for implementing the recently passed tax law.

The guidelines are necessary for businesses to calculate how much to withhold in taxes from employees’ paychecks beginning as soon as next month. The White House said Thursday that businesses should make these adjustments by Feb. 15, part of the administration’s push for millions of workers to see bigger paychecks as quickly as possible. Continue reading “New tax guidelines rely on workers to double-check their paychecks”

A package for Steven Mnuchin caused a bomb scare. It turned out to be filled with horse manure.

The following article by Amy B. Wang was posted on the Washington Post website December 24, 2017:

A suspicious package addressed to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin prompted a bomb scare Dec. 23, but was later discovered to contain horse manure. (Reuters)

A suspicious package that appeared Saturday night in the swanky Los Angeles neighborhood of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin prompted lengthy street closures and a sizable response by local and federal authorities, including members of the Los Angeles Police Department’s bomb squad.

But the bomb scare was a false alarm, police told local media, after the package was discovered to contain only horse manure. Continue reading “A package for Steven Mnuchin caused a bomb scare. It turned out to be filled with horse manure.”

Trump’s tax law creates new challenges for IRS

The following article by Naomi Jagoda was posted on the Hill website December 23, 2017:

Credit: Evan Vucci/AP Photo

The Republican tax bill is the law of the land — but for federal officials, the work is just beginning.

The Treasury Department and the IRS now have a mammoth task on their hands as they seek to turn the sweeping tax provisions passed by Congress into new rules and regulations. Continue reading “Trump’s tax law creates new challenges for IRS”

Mnuchin: Comparisons to James Bond villain a compliment

The following article by Brett Samuels was posted on the Hill website November 19, 2017:

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Sunday said he takes it as a compliment that some people suggested that he and his wife looked like villains from a “James Bond” movie when they posed with newly printed currency.

“I never thought I’d be quoted as looking like villains from the ‘James Bond’ [movies]. I guess I should take that as a compliment that I look like a villain in a great, successful ‘James Bond’ movie,” Mnuchin said on “Fox News Sunday.”

Mnuchin and his wife, Louise Linton, caused a stir on social media last week when they posed with a sheet of newly printed dollar bills, the first bearing Mnuchin’s signature.

A photo of the two quickly went viral, with Linton locking eyes with the camera while holding the sheet and wearing a black leather glove, and Mnuchin looking off into the distance.

Asked on Sunday why he posed for the photo, Mnuchin said he was excited to have his signature on the dollar bill, adding that it’s “a great privilege” being Treasury secretary.

“I didn’t realize the pictures were public and going on the Internet and viral, but people can do that,” Mnuchin said Sunday, adding that the beauty of social media is “people can communicate what they want.”

The couple previously caught flak for taking a government jet to Kentucky this summer for the solar eclipse. The Treasury secretary also reportedly requested the use of a government jet during his honeymoon to Europe.

View the post here.

Continue reading “Mnuchin: Comparisons to James Bond villain a compliment”