Politics

Trump Supporter Fires Back at Treasury Appointment

December 2nd 2016

President-elect Donald Trump's cabinet appointments left one Trump voter wishing she stayed home on election day, according to the Associated Press.

On Wednesday, Trump nominated Steven Mnuchin for Treasury Secretary. Mnuchin served as the Trump campaign's finance chairman.

The choice hit close to home for 59-year-old Teena Colebrook, whose Los Angeles property was foreclosed on by the bank OneWest under Mnuchin's leadership.

"I just wish that I had not voted," she told the AP. "I have no faith in our government anymore at all. They all promise you the world at the end of a stick and take it away once they get in."

Colebrook's primary income came from renting two units in the since-foreclosed on property. After the 2008 economic recession, she struggled to make monthly payments on an loan that she took out from her hometown bank, the First Federal Bank of California. The loan was purchased by OneWest in 2009, meaning she had to deal with OneWest.

"All my tenants lost their jobs in the crash," she said. "They couldn't pay. It was a knock-on effect."

Colebrook expressed deep disappointment in the president-elect.

"He doesn't want the truth," she told the AP. "He's now backing his buddies."

donald-trumpAP/Erik Kabik Photography/ MediaPunch - apimages.com

Colebrook hopes to meet with Trump to explain why she believes his appointments betray his promises to supporters, the report claims.

Trump's cabinet is stocked with D.C. veterans and "finance guys," but Mnuchin's background is particularly controversial.

During Mnuchin's tenure at OneWest, the bank came under fire for aggressive foreclosure practices and for evicting families and the elderly, the Daily Beast explains. Five-years after Mnuchin took over OneWest, he sold it for $3.4 billion.

ThinkProgress editor Judd Legum broke down the issue on Twitter:

"Mr. Mnuchin oversaw a bank that created difficulties and financial ruin for tens of thousands of families," California Reinvestment Coalition Deputy Director Kevin Stein told NPR Tuesday.

Colebrook fought hard to adjust her loan with OneWest.

From the AP:

"Over five years, she tried unsuccessfully to adjust her loan with OneWest through the Treasury Department's Home Affordable Modification Program. But she said that One West Bank lost paperwork, provided conflicting statements about ownership of the loan and fees and submitted charges that were unverified and caused her loan balance to balloon. By the time she lost her home in foreclosure in April 2015, the payoff balance totaled $517,662."

The report arrives as progressive Senate Democrats slam Trump for picking Mnuchin despite his pledge to "drain the swamp" of political and financial insiders.

Colebrook currently resides in San Luis Obispo and "said she is still challenging the foreclosure in court," the AP reports.

You can read the full report on the Associated Press.

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