Senate Panel Approves Trump Nominee as SEC Chairman
The U.S. Senate Banking Committee approved Jay Clayton’s nomination as the next chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in a 15 to 8 vote, mostly along party lines. The vote is expected to move to the full Senate later this month.
Clayton’s law firm Sullivan & Cromwell has represented numerous financial clients including Goldman Sachs, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, UBS Securities, Royal Bank of Canada, Pershing Square and others.
Chairman Mike Crapo (R-ID) called Clayton “imminently qualified” in his opening statements.
In an agreement filed with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics last month, Clayton said that he would recuse himself for one year from matters involving his law firm. In addition, he plans to recuse himself from matters involving former clients for a period of one year after he last provided them legal services.
Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Ranking Member Sherrod Brown (D-OH) voted against Clayton after raising concerns at his confirmation hearing last month on his close ties to Wall Street and possible frequent recusals on SEC matters.
Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ), a senior member of the Senate Banking Committee who voted against Clayton, said that he was “seriously concerned that Mr. Clayton will bend rules for companies and ignore the needs of hard-working Americans.”
Michael Piwowar currently serves as the Commission’s acting chairman.
