WASHINGTON - Groups that oppose financier Steve Mnuchin's bid to become President Donald Trump's Treasury secretary launched a television ad campaign in Ohio on Tuesday meant to pressure U.S. Sen. Rob Portman to vote against his nomination.
The ad - which is also running in other states - features an Oregon woman named Lisa Fraser describing how One West, a financial institution Mnuchin ran, foreclosed on her house after her husband became ill with cancer.
"Steve Mnuchin ran the bank that committed fraud and took our home and now Donald Trump has nominated him to run our economy as Treasury Secretary," the ad says. "We can't let that happen."
BREAKING: Donald Trump's treasury pick Mnuchin misled Senate on foreclosures, Ohio cases show - Columbus Dispatch https://t.co/UwGHGCcJmm
-- Darrel Rowland (@darreldrowland) January 29, 2017
Mnuchin's bank foreclosed on thousands of Ohio homeowners, using a questionable practice called "robo-signing," in which foreclosure documents were signed without the scrutiny required by law, the Columbus Dispatch reported. Mnuchin falsely told a Senate committee his bank didn't engage in the practice.
Mnuchin has also promised to try rolling back parts of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act bill that cracked down on abuses by banks.
The Progressive Change Campaign Committee and the Communications Workers of America are fighting Mnuchin with ads on MSNBC, CNN and Fox News in Portman's hometown of Cincinnati. The organizations are spending "six figures" to run the ads in Ohio, as well as Maine, Alaska, Nevada and Washington D.C., said spokeswoman Kaitlin Sweeney.
Portman last week cast a Senate Finance Committee vote to approve Mnuchin's nomination, issuing a statement that said Mnuchin promised Portman he'd work to "reform our broken tax code and crack down on unfair imports, and I look forward to working with him to accomplish those goals."
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"Our economy needs a shot in the arm," the Ohio Republican added. "Too many Ohio families today are dealing with the middle-class squeeze, stuck with stagnant wages and higher expenses, including the skyrocketing costs of ObamaCare. We can do better."
Ohio's Democratic Senator, Sherrod Brown, opposes Mnuchin's nomination.
"Mr. Mnuchin's bank hurt good, hardworking people in Ohio and around the country, and the least those people deserve is honest answers," said a statement from Brown. "If nominees can't be trusted to tell the truth to Congress, they cannot be trusted with the healthcare, taxes and retirement security of hardworking Americans."
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