WASHINGTON (CN) - President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday announced Goldman Sachs Foundation President Dina Habib Powell will advise Trump in the White House, the fifth hire Trump has made from the financial giant.
Powell also currently serves as the global head of impact investing at Goldman Sachs and previously served in the Bush White House and State department. Trump said Powell will serve as assistant to the president and senior counselor for economic initiatives, where she will focus on small businesses and "global economic empowerment of women."
"Dina Powell is a tremendous talent and has a stellar record of public service as well as a great career in the private sector," Trump said in a statement. "She has been recognized for her strategic oversight of key programs and initiatives and is a leader in both economic growth and crucial empowerment of women in various aspects of business development and entrepreneurial endeavors. I am proud to have her serve as a senior counselor in my administration, where I know she will produce great results working with the highly respected team of experts we have assembled."
Powell joins Steve Bannon, Trump's top strategist, Steven Mnuchin, his proposed treasury secretary, Jay Clayton, who Trump has tapped to lead the SEC and Gary Cohn, who will lead the National Economic Council as former Goldman employees who have gotten jobs in the new administration.
Trump railed against the financial firm during the campaign, hitting Sen. Ted Cruz and later Hillary Clinton over their ties to the company. When Cruz refused to endorse Trump during a speech at the Republican National Convention, his wife Heidi, who worked at the financial giant, was taunted with chants of "Goldman Sachs" as she was escorted off the floor.
Trump repeatedly insisted that while Goldman Sachs had "total control" over politicians like Cruz and Clinton, he was independent of the firm because he was self-funding his campaign.
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