Steven Mnuchin is Donald Trump's campaign finance chairman and a Goldman Sachs alumnus. | Getty Trump eyes Goldman alum Mnuchin for Treasury secretary

Donald Trump is signaling that he wants to appoint his campaign finance chairman, Steven Mnuchin, as Treasury secretary, according to a person close to the campaign.

Trump's preference for the Goldman Sachs alumnus is the latest evidence that the GOP presidential nominee would be inclined to hire officials with experience in the business world should he win next week's election, despite the anti-establishment tone that has dominated the campaign.


"It is difficult to see how a second-generation Goldman Sachs partner would secure such a prominent position in an administration delivered by a populist wind," Compass Point analyst Isaac Boltansky said.

Fox Business first reported Trump's comments Thursday. Anthony Scaramucci, a hedge fund manager and Trump fundraiser with close ties to the campaign, confirmed the report. When asked whether he believes Trump is indicating to staff that he would like Mnuchin to serve as Treasury secretary, Scaramucci said "I do."

Trump's transition team has been searching for private-sector executives who could be named to the real estate developer's Cabinet.

Yet nominating Mnuchin to run Treasury could face resistance from progressives and financial reform advocates, who are urging the next president to appoint economic advisers willing to crack down on Wall Street.

Mnuchin worked for 17 years at Goldman Sachs. He later led OneWest Bank, which was sold to CIT Group in 2015. He now serves on CIT's board and is the chairman and chief executive of the private investment firm Dune Capital Management.

In a July interview with CNBC, Mnuchin said the 2010 Dodd-Frank Law, which strengthened the regulation of the finance industry, "needs to be looked at." He said there are good and bad aspects of the law, according to a profile that Bloomberg published in August. Trump has said he wants to dismantle Dodd-Frank.

"Word that Trump would go with Steven Mnuchin as Treasury secretary suggests that in choosing between his populist political persona and his life story as a rich kid turned businessman, a President Trump would be little different than, say, a President Romney," said Jeff Hauser, director of the Revolving Door Project.

"It's hard to see Mnuchin cracking down on Wall Street," said Hauser, whose nonprofit group scrutinizes executive-branch appointments. "Indeed, one imagines Mnuchin's banking agenda would be to rehabilitate Trump's reputation with Wall Street."

A Trump campaign spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.

Ben White contributed to this report.