JPMorgan Chase's strong first-quarter numbers put CEO Jamie Dimon in a good mood on Thursday. But the air almost went out of the room on the bank's earnings conference call when the CEO, whose overseen a double in JPMorgan's stock price over the last five years, joked about joining the Trump administration.
When asked by Wells Fargo analyst Matthew Burnell during a conference call about the number of open positions inside the White House, specifically those relevant to regulating banks, Dimon interrupted: "I said I'm not interested."
Dimon's name was thrown around for a White House position, including Treasury secretary, following President Donald Trump's presidential victory.
"I'm kidding," Dimon added.
The Trump administration has struggled to fill a number of key positions, including Labor secretary. Andrew Puzder, Trump's first nominee for the post, withdrew from consideration in late January. Current nominee Alexander Acosta's vote was still pending as of Thursday.
But Dimon didn't sound worried at all, reiterating his faith in Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Trump Chief Economic Adviser Gary Cohn, both Goldman Sachs alums.
"They want to find the right people for those jobs," Dimon said. "I gather they are talking to lots of people. But even after they announced it, remember they need to be vetted and confirmed, and that ... can take 90 days. So the sooner the better, but I think getting the right people is equally important."
Dimon did get serious at one point during the call, saying current regulations are crippling many consumers' ability to achieve the American dream and take out a mortgage, a problem he thinks needs addressing. "I could care less [if] banks, the nonbanks do it," he said. "My point about that was how it's hurting the growth of America."
Watch: Dimon talks about JPM's performance
