(JTA) — President-elect Donald Trump reportedly is considering appointing the Jewish billionaire Henry Kravis as his Treasury secretary.
Trump spoke to Kravis, a private equity pioneer, following his Nov. 8 victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton, the New York Post reported Thursday. An unnamed source told the Post that Trump had reached out to Kravis, 72, of Oklahoma, who heads the KKR & Co. equity firm.
Trump has named Kravis before as a possible candidate for the job.
In May, Kravis said: “While I’m honored to be mentioned, I love my job and can’t imagine leaving it” in commenting about speculation that he would be named secretary.
But in July 2015, Kravis, a longtime Republican who did not name a favorite in the primary campaign, said it was “scary” that Trump had mentioned him, along with Carl Icahn and former General Electric CEO Jack Welch, as a possible Treasury Department boss.
Trump adviser Steven Mnuchin, who is also Jewish, is also being considered for the position, according to the Post, as well as JPMorgan executive Jamie Dimon, who is not Jewish.
Neither Kravis nor KKR donated to any of the 2016 presidential candidates, official filings show.
Donation records show that Kravis, who is worth $4.6 billion, donated $32,400 last year to the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
KKR in 2015 donated $5,000 to Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and smaller amounts to several Republican senatorial candidates, including $2,700 in August to Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H.
Kravis is close to former President George H.W. Bush.
