WASHINGTON (AP) — A bitterly divided Senate on Monday confirmed Steven Mnuchin as treasury secretary despite strong objections by Democrats that the former banker ran a "foreclosure machine" when he headed OneWest Bank.
Republicans said Mnuchin's long tenure in finance makes him qualified to run the department, which will play a major role in developing economic policy under President Donald Trump.
"He has experience managing large and complicated private-sector enterprises and in negotiating difficult compromises and making tough decisions — and being accountable for those decisions," said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, chairman of the Finance Committee.
Votes on President Donald Trump's Cabinet picks have exposed deep partisan divisions in the Republican-controlled Senate, with many of the nominees approved by mostly party-line votes.
The vote on Mnuchin followed the same pattern. He was confirmed by a mostly party-line vote of 53-47. Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia joined the Republicans.
The Senate also headed toward a vote on a less divisive nominee, physician David Shulkin, to be secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Like others in Trump's Cabinet, Mnuchin is a wealthy businessman. He is a former top executive at Goldman Sachs and served as finance chairman for Trump's presidential campaign.
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