WASHINGTON — President Trump made six nominations to key Treasury posts late Tuesday and tapped another to lead the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Trump nominated longtime Goldman Sachs executive and adjunct University of Virginia professor James Donovan to serve as Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s No. 2. There were reports that the Trump administration was concerned about nominating Donovan as deputy Treasury secretary because of the optics of having more Goldman Sachs alumni serving in key economic posts. Mnuchin and National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn are also former Goldman bankers.
“At the end of the day, Donald Trump, or people close to him, had to decide how much they cared that they will be accused by Democrats of turning the administration into a Goldman Sachs reunion. The answer: Not very much,” Ian Katz, an analyst at Capital Alpha Partners, wrote in a note to clients.
Donovan was also a key fundraiser for former Republican Presidential Nominee Mitt Romney and an adviser for the Jeb Bush 2016 campaign.
Trump campaign economic adviser David Malpass was nominated to be Treasury undersecretary for international affairs. Malpass most recently ran his own economic research firm and previously worked at Bear Stearns and served in the Treasury under Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush.
Malpass has also
Other Treasury appointments include American Enterprise Institute visiting scholar Adam Lerrick, who was nominated to be deputy undersecretary for international finance and Andrew K. ”Drew“ Maloney as undersecretary for legislative affairs.
Sigal Mandelker was chosen to be Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, and Brent James McIntosh was nominated to be general counsel. Mandelker, the lone woman tapped to a senior Treasury post on Tuesday, previously held senior roles at the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security. McIntosh is a partner at the law firm Sullivan & Cromwell.
J. Christopher Giancarlo was nominated to lead the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Giancarlo was confirmed to be a commissioner at the agency in 2014 and has been serving as acting chairman since Trump’s confirmation.
“These nominations show a continued reliance of the administration on those with industry experience and likely bodes well for the coming picks for the Federal Reserve,” Edward Mills, an analyst at FBR Capital Markets, wrote in a note to clients. “Given the nominations at Treasury, it appears likely that Trump will nominate individuals with industry backgrounds, who would likely be viewed positively by the market.”
Three Federal Reserve Board positions are open, including vice chairman for supervision, the Fed’s top bank regulatory post.
