Finance

Mnuchin Is Relatively Unknown, but Most Popular With Wealthy Americans

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s popularity with surveyed voters has improved since his confirmation hearing last month, though a plurality of Americans still aren’t familiar with the nation’s top economic official, according to Morning Consult polling.

Mnuchin, who took the Treasury post after being confirmed by the Senate last week, had an average favorability rating among registered voters of 30 percent Feb. 10 through Feb. 13. During the same period, 37.8 percent of voters said they didn’t know Mnuchin, while 32 percent had an unfavorable opinion.

Trends from the past month of Morning Consult polls show Mnuchin is most popular with voters with annual incomes greater than $100,000. Among voters in that bracket, 23 percent of the said they have a “somewhat favorable” opinion of Mnuchin and 13 percent said they view him very favorably. That compares with 32 percent of top earners who had a very or somewhat unfavorable view of Mnuchin. Thirty-two percent either did not know or or had no opinion on the Treasury Secretary.

32 percent of voters earning between $50,000 and $100,000 a year viewed Mnuchin favorably, while 23 percent with incomes under $50,000 said the same.

Mnuchin’s nomination was one of several cabinet nominations strongly opposed by Senate Democrats. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) suspended the Finance panel’s rules to advance Mnuchin’s nomination to the floor after Democrats boycotted a committee vote because of ethical concerns about his management of OneWest Bank.

In spite of this controversy, Mnuchin’s favorability trendline has been relatively steady for the past month.

Morning Consult