And so it begins:
A progressive advocacy group focused on holding Wall Street accountable has launched the first major ad campaign since the presidential election, targeting President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of Steven Mnuchin for Treasury secretary.
The ads, released Wednesday by Allied Progress, urge Sens. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and Dean Heller (R-Nev.) to oppose the nomination of the multimillionaire hedge funder and former Goldman Sachs executive.
The ads highlight Mnuchin’s record as co-owner of OneWest, a bank that profited during the height of the 2008 financial crisis by engaging in an array of unethical practices. Regulators say the bank gave predatory loans to the elderly and aggressively foreclosed on people’s homes. One of those people included a 90-year-old woman who was evicted over 27 cents. The bank was also accused of racist lending practices like redlining against minority groups.
“Mnuchin made millions after his bank foreclosed on homeowners,” the narrator says in the ads. (Liberal billionaire donor George Soros, along with fellow hedge fund manager John Paulson, who is now a Trump supporter, were part of the investment team that purchased the failing bank.)
The 30-second spots, which are backed by a six-figure cable and broadcast buy, begin airing this week in Arizona and Nevada ― two states hit particularly hard by foreclosures during the recession.
While Democrats have more seats to defend, Flake and Heller are the most vulnerable GOP incumbents this coming cycle. It’s important we keep an eye on how they vote and keep mounting pressure on them. Let's keep up the opposition to Mnuchin and all Trump nominees. Below is Flake and Heller’s contact info. Click their names.
Dean Heller
Jeff Flake