President Trump’s nominee to chair the Securities and Exchange Commission will get a vote next week at the comittee level, the first step to confirmation.
The Senate Banking Committee said the vote on the nomination of corporate lawyer Jay Clayton would take place Tuesday morning.
Last week, the panel held confirmation hearings for Clayton, who expressed a desire to change regulations to make it easier for companies to go public and for small investors to share in their growth.
While he was well-received by Republicans, Democrats challenged him by raising the possibility that his past representation of financial firms could pose conflicts of interest or prevent him from leading the commission in strong enforcement.
Massachusetts Democrat Elizabeth Warren also tried to get him to commit to investigate billionaire activist investor and Trump adviser Carl Icahn for insider trading.
While Clayton’s confirmation has been pending, Democrats have also objected to the leadership of the acting chairman, Michael Piwowar. On Wednesday they asked for an inspector general investigation into whether Piwowar has overstepped his authority in seeking to ease Obama-era rules.
