Trump Stacking His Team With Billionaires, Millionaires

His administration could be richest ever—worth up to $35B
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 1, 2016 11:55 AM CST
Trump Administration Could Be Worth $35B—Richest Ever
Steven Mnuchin, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for Treasury secretary, gets on an elevator after speaking with reporters in the lobby of Trump Tower on Wednesday.   (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Donald Trump ran on a "drain the swamp" platform in which he positioned himself as a man of the people. Which is why eyebrows are being raised at him tapping ex-Goldman Sachs bigwig Steve Mnuchin for Treasury secretary, billionaire investor Wilbur Ross for commerce secretary, and a handful of other millionaires and billionaires for top government roles as he puts together what the Washington Post says "will be the wealthiest administration in modern American history." It's a message echoed on Politico, referring to "Trump's team of gazillionaires"—which also includes education secretary pick Betsy DeVos and possible deputy commerce secretary Todd Ricketts, both from billionaire families—as being worth "as much as $35 billion." It's concerning to some who say these scions won't be able to empathize with the average American.

Politico frames these developments as a "return to power" in the White House for Goldman Sachs (President Gary Cohn is also said to be a possible pick for the Office of Management and Budget), Bloomberg paints it as "Wall Street wins again," and the Wall Street Journal marvels at how Trump and Wall Street are becoming "fast friends." But Politico notes that "high rollers" in the Cabinet aren't new, and Mnuchin and Ross told CNBC's Squawk Box Wednesday their experience was a benefit. "I think one of the good things about both Wilbur and I, we have actually been bankers," Mnuchin said. "We understand what it is to make loans." Others disagree. "These picks are a betrayal of his message to working-class voters," says the Center for American Progress' president. (More Donald Trump stories.)

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