Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is facing strict scrutiny from Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., over his time on the board of Sears, which recently filed for bankruptcy.
Last month, Mnuchin and several other former board members were named in a lawsuit in which Sears Holding Company accused former chairman Eddie Lampert and others of draining billions from the company, which was at that point closing stores and letting employees go.
“We are deeply concerned by the financial engineering and potentially illegal activity that took place at Sears Holding Corporation while you served on the company’s board,” the congresswomen said in a letter to Mnuchin sent Thursday, according to The Washington Post.
“In addition, we are concerned that, as Treasury Secretary, you are in position to take actions that benefit Sears’ shareholders and owners at the expense of workers and taxpayers."
Warren and Ocasio-Cortez also released a video on Twitter calling for answers to their questions.
When the retail chain filed for bankruptcy last October, its two pension plans became the responsibility of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., an organization that Mnuchin supervises along with the secretaries of commerce and labor.
“You stated in your confirmation hearing that you would recuse yourself from any official PBGC actions related to Sears,” the letter continues, “but the current status of your recusal requirements — and the exact types of decisions you are recused from — are unclear.”
Representatives for the Treasury Department did not respond immediately to the Post’s request for comment.
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