Republican former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson told CNBC on Monday that Democrat Hillary Clinton has the “temperament” to find middle ground on the big issues facing the nation.
Saying he supports House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Paulson said on “Squawk Box” he cannot get behind GOP nominee Donald Trump.
Paulson wants to see Republicans keep control of the House and Senate. He said divided government is the best way to enact the tax and entitlement reform needed to help boost the economy.
Paulson, who headed the Treasury during the presidency of George W. Bush and in the thick of the 2008 financial crisis, broke ranks this summer, and said he’s going to be vote for Clinton.
In a Washington Post op-ed in June, Paulson called Trump’s rise a “populist hijacking” of one of the great political parties of the United States.
Earlier this month, Paulson warned in a Financial Times interview that the anti-trade rhetoric by both candidates threatens to deter Chinese investment in the U.S.
