Treasury Secretary Mnuchin asked for government jet for honeymoon

The following article by Henry C. Jackson and Josh Dawsey was posted on the Politico website September 13, 2017:

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and his wife Louise Linton traveled to Scotland, France and Italy after their late-June wedding. | Mandegl Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin asked for a military jet to take him and his wife, actress Louise Linton, on their European honeymoon earlier this summer, the Treasury Department confirmed on Wednesday.

ABC News, citing anonymous sources, first reported that Mnuchin put the request in writing and that it led to an “inquiry” by the Treasury Department’s Office of Inspector General.

Mnuchin and Linton traveled to Scotland, France and Italy after their late-June wedding. The request for a military plane was eventually deemed unnecessary after further consideration. Continue reading “Treasury Secretary Mnuchin asked for government jet for honeymoon”

Steven Mnuchin, Trump’s treasury secretary, is hurtling toward his first fiasco

The following article by Damian Paletta was posted on the Washington Post website July 17, 2017:

President Donald Trump walks with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to The White House after signing Executive Orders at the Treasury Building on April 21. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post)

Shortly before he was sworn in as treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin spoke with his predecessor to get some advice.

Pay attention to the debt problems in Puerto Rico, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew warned Mnuchin, and remember that China’s currency issues are more complex than the incoming president, Donald Trump, had suggested during the campaign, according to two people briefed on the exchange who spoke on the condition of anonymity to reveal private discussions.

And in pointed remarks, Lew told Mnuchin to take the debt ceiling seriously — or face a potential financial crisis.

Months later, Mnuchin is hurtling toward his first fiasco, unable to get Congress, let alone his colleagues in the Trump administration, on board with a strategy to raise the federal limit on governmental borrowing. Continue reading “Steven Mnuchin, Trump’s treasury secretary, is hurtling toward his first fiasco”