Senator Elizabeth Warren is railing against President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to head up the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Trump earlier on Wednesday said he wanted Wall Street lawyer Jay Clayton to be the SEC’s chairman, calling him “a highly talented expert on many aspects of financial and regulatory law.”
However, Warren begs to differ.
”Mr. Clayton’s selection is great news if you happen to run a big bank or manage a hedge fund — but you’re out of luck if you want to see tough rules on Wall Street and bankers held accountable when they break the law,” the Massachusetts Democrat said in a statement.
Advertisement
Warren said Clayton has “dedicated his career to defending Wall Street firms and other big companies, and there’s nothing in his track record to suggest that he’ll push the SEC to stand up to those kinds of companies and protect the interests of ordinary investors.”
She also made it clear where she stands on the majority of the president-elect’s administration picks.
“With each passing selection for his economic team, President-elect Trump is making clear that his administration will put Wall Street first and working families last,” the senator wrote.
The Senate must OK the nomination of Clayton, a partner at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP.
Warren’s strong words are just her latest. Shortly after the election, she sent a letter to Trump urging him to shake up his then-fledgling transition team, saying that if he refused, she would “oppose you, every step of the way, for the next four years.” In late November, Warren and Representative Elijah Cummings also issued a request for a federal agency to review Trump’s transition to the White House amid reports of chaos, disarray, and potential conflicts of interest.
Clayton is the latest Trump pick with deep ties to Wall Street: He has tapped Goldman Sachs president Gary Cohn to lead the White House National Economic Council. Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury secretary nominee, spent 17 years at Goldman Sachs, and Steve Bannon, Trump’s chief strategist and senior counselor, started his career as an investment banker at the firm.
Advertisement
Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.