Donald Trump has picked Steven Mnuchin to be treasury secretary and Wilbur Ross as commerce secretary, the financiers confirmed Wednesday morning.
“We’re thrilled to be here and we’re thrilled to work for the president-elect and honored to have these positions,” Mnuchin said in a joint interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
Mnuchin, a former Goldman Sachs banker who is engaged to Scottish-born bombshell Louise Linton, said the incoming Republican administration will focus on economic growth and tax reform.
“Our most important priority is sustained economic growth, and I think we can absolutely get to sustained 3 to 4 percent GDP, and that is absolutely critical for the country,” he told the financial show.
“To get there, our number one priority is tax reform. This will be the largest tax change since [President Ronald] Reagan,” he added, pledging to simplify the tax code. “Taxes are way too complicated, and people spend way too much time worrying about ways to get them lower.”
Ross, a billionaire turnaround artist and former Democrat, pledged to focus on bilateral trade agreements — a cornerstone of Trump’s successful campaign platform.
“We’ve been doing a lot of dumb trade,” Ross told CNBC.
Mnuchin also talked with reporters at Trump Tower on Wednesday morning and praised his future boss for brokering a deal with air-conditioner company Carrier to save nearly 1,000 jobs from being moved to Mexico.
“The Carrier deal, I think it’s terrific. The president-elect and the vice president picked up the phone and called the CEO of the United Technologies and told them we want to keep jobs here,” Mnuchin said, referring to Carrier’s parent company.
“Can’t remember the last time a president did that and this is going to be a terrific opportunity,” he added, suggesting that these kind of negotiations with private companies will be the norm in the Trump administration.
A source also confirmed that Todd Ricketts, an owner of the World Series-winning Chicago Cubs, is expected to be named deputy commerce secretary.
The Ricketts family ran sustained attack ads against Trump during the Republican presidential primary.