Donovan dropping out as Trump's nominee for deputy Treasury secretary

NEW YORK — Jim Donovan is dropping out as President Donald Trump’s nominee to serve as deputy Treasury secretary.

The Goldman Sachs executive, nominated in March to serve as Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s No. 2, informed the White House this week that he could not take the job due to family concerns. He was expected to play a critical role in helping shape the administration’s tax reform policy through Capitol Hill.


"I am deeply honored by President Trump's decision to nominate me as Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury,” Donovan said in a statement. “However, at this time I want to focus on my family, and I can no longer accept it. I hope to be able to serve this administration in the future and fully support President Trump and Secretary Steven Mnuchin's ongoing work to reform the tax system and grow the U.S. economy.”

Donovan’s departure will come as the administration struggles to push the focus back to its major policy initiatives and away from a series of revelations about the administration and Russia.

“Secretary Mnuchin offers Jim his support and friendship as he focuses his attention on his family,” Treasury spokesman Tony Sayegh said in a statement Friday. “Jim has been an enormous asset to the department helping recruit and fill many of the senior jobs at Treasury. He appreciates Jim’s continued support of the President and his administration.”

Morning Money Political intelligence on Washington and Wall Street — weekday mornings, in your inbox. Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Donovan, a Goldman partner and managing director, is close to Mitt Romney and served as one of the 2012 GOP nominee’s top fundraisers. He was also a top fundraiser and economic adviser for Jeb Bush in the 2016 campaign. He joined Goldman in 1993 and covered major clients in both investment banking and investment management.

Donovan’s loss will be keenly felt inside the Treasury building, since he helped hire all of the political appointees. He was also seen throughout Washington as one of the administration's incoming “grown-ups” meant to bring order and management skills to the department's staff, many of whom have no government or economic policy expertise, said one lobbyist close to the administration.

“His job was going to involve breaking down the secrecy and walls currently in place in the building and to help forge a team that could advocate for the best policies,” the lobbyist added.

Mnuchin now must fill his slot, as well as the key position of the undersecretary for domestic finance, at a time when the administration is weighed down by multiple investigations and scandals.

Nancy Cook contributed to this report.