Was that “drain the swamp” or “strain the swamp”?
It’s getting hard to tell.
For all of his bluster, Trump really doesn’t seem all that turned off by the big banks and power players from Wall Street.
Take for instance, Gary Cohn.
Cohn is the president of Goldman Sachs.
He’s also reportedly being considered for a top job in the Trump administration.
Cohn, the president and chief operating officer at the bank, met with Trump on Tuesday. The two discussed several possible positions, including director of the Office of Management and Budget, multiple sources told Politico.
Trump was a vocal critic of Wall Street banks on the campaign trail and repeatedly called on Hillary Clinton to release the transcripts of the paid speeches she delivered to Goldman Sachs. Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein said in October that he was backing Clinton for president.
But the businessman has already tapped a former Wall Street executive to his Cabinet. He named Steven Mnuchin, the national finance chairman of his campaign, to serve as his Treasury secretary. Mnuchin is a former partner at Goldman Sachs.
Drain. The. Swamp.
So what do we know about Cohn?
We know he’s a Democrat. We also know, however, that he’s contributed to politicians on both sides of the aisle.
Senate Democrats benefited from Cohn’s contributions between 2004 and 2008. House Republicans received contributions in 2015.
During Wednesday’s transition call, spokesman Jason Miller defended Trump’s recent Cabinet picks, including Mnuchin and billionaire Wilbur Ross Jr. as Commerce secretary.
“There’s nobody better to understand how the tax code works, to understand how trade policies work, to understand just how American workers have been treated unfairly in recent years like Wilbur Ross and Steve Mnuchin,” Miller told reporters on the call.
And that may be the case. They, along with Cohn, may be perfectly qualified to carry out the duties of any administrative position in the Trump camp.
The concern, however, is in the vested interests of all these “swamp creatures” Trump previously eschewed, now filling up prime spots in his administration.
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