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Trump names hedge fund vet as finance chairman

By Allen Cone

NEW YORK, May 5 (UPI) -- Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, who self-funded most of his primary campaign, named a hedge fund veteran Thursday as finance chairman for the general election.

Steven Mnuchin, chairman and CEO of Dune Capital Management, previously served as chairman of OneWest Bank Group and as a partner at Goldman Sachs.

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Mnuchin said he wants to help Trump "create a world-class finance organization" for his campaign.

"Steven is a professional at the highest level with an extensive and very successful financial background," Trump said in a statement. "He brings unprecedented experience and expertise to a fundraising operation that will benefit the Republican Party and ultimately defeat Hillary Clinton."

Trump, the billionaire businessman, helped fund his GOP campaign with a $36 million loan from himself. He took in $12 million in donations by the end of March.

Trump said Mnuchin previously worked with himself in a business capacity.

The statement by Trump didn't explain how the fundraising network be set up.

"If he can raise money like Bernie Sanders has raised money, with mostly small contributions, then this won't change his narrative," Elaine Kamarck, senior fellow in the governance studies program at the Brookings Institution, told CNBC. But if he relies on larger donors, I think that's going to create some problems for some of his supporters," she said.

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Trump will begin raising money for the Republican Party and congressional committees, his campaign said. He also did not rule out the possibility of accepting public matching funds.

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