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President Donald Trump withdrew the nomination of Treasury Department pick Donald Korb Friday after questions surfaced about his past donations to Democrats.

Trump announced he was withdrawing Korb’s nomination in a post to Truth Social.

“Please be advised that I am withdrawing the nomination of Donald Korb to be Assistant General Counsel in the Department of the Treasury. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

🚨 JUST IN: President Trump WITHDRAWS nomination of Donald Korb at the Treasury.

Laura Loomer exposed Korb 2 days ago, urging DJT to withdraw the nom.@LauraLoomer said on Nov. 12 that Korb “praised Chuck Schumer, donated to Democrats, received support from anti-Trump Democrat… pic.twitter.com/dViNAO2NmX

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) November 14, 2025

Republicans previously voiced concerns about Trump’s Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Chief Counsel nominee, Korb, pointing to his past political contributions to Democrats. These donations included several thousand dollars to former Rhode Island Governor and Biden Commerce Secretary, Gina Raimondo, from 2013 to 2019.

While governor, Raimondo helped lead a 2020 coalition of progressive groups aimed at advancing liberal priorities and defeating Trump in crucial battleground states. As Commerce Secretary, she reportedly pushed to fully allocate agency funds before leaving office and protect left-wing spending ambitions, and she also hosted the department’s first “Equity Town Hall.”

Korb formerly served as head of Sullivan & Cromwell’s Tax Controversy Practice after serving as IRS Chief Counsel from 2004 to 2008. The firm has reportedly given nearly $2.7 million to Democrats, and it ranked as the third-largest donor among U.S. law firms to Democratic candidates.

Earlier in his career, Korb served at the IRS as an attorney advisor in the Office of Chief Counsel and then as assistant to the commissioner of internal revenue, where he played a key role in helping the IRS implement the Tax Reform Act of 1986.

🚨 SCOOP: Republicans are voicing concerns about President Donald Trump’s nominee for Chief Counsel for the IRS Donald Korb, over his past donations to Democrats, the Daily Caller has learned.

Korb contributed several thousand dollars to former Rhode Island Democratic Governor… pic.twitter.com/EtwfZP2r3V

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) November 4, 2025

He has also donated to several Republicans over the years, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell and Maine Sen. Susan Collins. Still, his connections to Raimondo and his previous work under former President George W. Bush have made some conservatives skeptical, raising questions about whether he would truly prioritize depoliticizing and reforming the IRS.

Korb testified before the Senate Finance Committee in October, where Democratic Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse joined the committee’s Republican majority in voting to send his nomination to the full Senate.

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Ashley Brasfield

Reporter

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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said during a Sunday interview with CBS News that the Trump administration is “working every day” on the affordability crisis in the U.S.

Margaret Brennan, the host of “Face the Nation,” spoke with Bessent, discussing a poll showing that at least half of Americans report “concern about paying for food and groceries and housing.”

“And I will tell you, President Trump was elected, one of the reasons was the affordability crisis, and we are setting about doing that,” Bessent began.

“I can tell you, we’re working every day. What I will point out, interest rates, the 10-year bond, which I am focused on, have been down every week since President Trump was president. Mortgage rates have been down every week. So that’s a pretty good start,” he continued.

Bessent also said the administration is in the process of deregulating and cutting back government spending.

The Treasury secretary claimed the “four years of disastrous policies” were to blame for the “gigantic deficits” that ultimately “led to the affordability problem.”

“What we had was a demand shock from the government spending that was met by supply constraints with overregulation,” he explained.

Bessent then told Brennan that interest rates being down is a “very good start toward housing affordability, toward auto affordability.”

U.S. mortgage rates climbed to a nearly six-month high at the end of 2024, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. At that time, the average interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased from 6.37% to 6.43%; 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with loan balances of $766,550 or less climbed from 6.89% to 6.97%. According to a subsequent Feb. 26, 2025 report, the average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased from 6.31% to 6.25%; 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with loan balances of $766,550 or less decreased from 6.93% to 6.88%.

Bessent also said the Treasury department plans to appoint an “affordability czar,” which he defined as, “Someone who picks the five or eight areas where this administration can make a big difference for working-class Americans.”

“Look, I think President Trump said that he’ll own the economy in six or 12 months. But I can tell you that we are working to get these prices down every day,” Bessent reiterated.

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