Vetting of President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks has become a controversial issue as Republican lawmakers pressed to move ahead with confirmation hearings before several nominees had completed their financial disclosures. Hearings for Trump’s picks to lead the Education Department, Commerce Department and Labor Department have all been delayed this week. Each of those nominees has vast personal wealth requiring complicated and extensive disclosures, and none has previously served in government.

On Tuesday, seven Democratic senators called on the Cabinet candidates to deliver more information, including details of any severance packages they may receive as they prepare to enter the administration.

AD

AD

“Given the unique wealth and power of your nominees, we request that they provide additional information during the confirmation process in order to ensure that your administration is free from conflicts of interest,” the letter stated.

In a letter to the Treasury’s ethics officer, Mnuchin said he intends to divest his holdings in 43 companies within 90 days of his confirmation. The list includes a stake in business lender CIT Group worth more than $50 million. Mnuchin joined CIT’s board of directors after it acquired his bank, OneWest, in 2015. He stepped down from the board at the end of last year.

Mnuchin also holds the rights to 52 existing and 23 future films by Hollywood film studio Warner Bros. that are worth between $5 million and $25 million. Mnuchin has been a significant backer of major blockbusters such as “Avatar,” “The Lego Movie” and “Suicide Squad.”

Mnuchin is also heavily invested in some of the America’s most recognizable companies. His stakes in Verizon and Microsoft are valued at more than $1 million. He also remains invested in Sears, which is run by Edward Lampert, his one-time roommate at Yale University. Mnuchin was on the retailer’s board of directors and resigned in December.

AD

AD

Democrats have sought to paint Trump’s wealthy nominees, including Mnuchin, as far removed from the working-class voters who helped sweep the former reality TV star into the White House. Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index estimates that Mnuchin’s net worth is $620 million, significantly larger than suggested by his financial disclosures.

Among Mnuchin’s assets is a checking account holding as much as $5 million. His estimate of the interest it earned topped out at $50,000 -- nearly as much as the national median household income.