Carl Icahn Believes Steven Mnuchin Will Become Treasury Secretary

Billionaire investor Carl Icahn believes President-elect Donald Trump will select Wall Street veteran Steven Mnuchin as his choice for Treasury Secretary. His comments came during an interview on the FOX Business Network’s The Intelligence Report.

“I think Steve is a very smart guy. I think Steve at that job would do better than I would and I think he will do a very capable job. I think he is a real loyalist for Donald. He wants to do the same program that Donald wants to do,” Icahn told host Trish Regan.

As FOX Business Network’s Charlie Gasparino reported, members of Trump’s transition team continue to push for JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon to accept the job of Treasury Secretary under the Trump administration. However, Icahn thinks Trump will most likely give the job to someone who has been loyal and with him since the beginning.

“I have never really thought that he [Jamie Dimon] would do that job or that Donald was considering him. I am not saying this because I don’t really respect Jamie Dimon, but I just think you know Donald is a loyal guy and he’s got people around him that are very smart,” he said.

Icahn has been fearful of the lack of economic growth under the current regulatory environment and thinks the perception that business is at war with government must change.

“Business is really afraid to invest. The average CEO, on the one hand he invests and [on the other] he is up against the wall, which I think in certain cases are [due to] absurd regulations…” Icahn said.

One example he gave was the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requiring a serial number, the Renewable Identification Number (RIN), assigned to refiners to track the production, use and trading of biofuel.

Icahn weighed in on Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen and said the economy is being held by the Federal Reserve.

“I think Janet Yellen has done what she could to try to hold up this economy, but I think she should have raised interest rates a year ago. If they did that, I think that the government would have to take on more obligations, do more fiscal stimulus,” he said.

Despite his love for his country, Icahn said he is reluctant to invest in America, but hopes the Fed will raise interest rates in December.

“I think that you have to raise interest rates in this country or you're going to have a bubble that's really gonna be bad,” Icahn said.