Top congressional Democrats did not hesitate Wednesday to criticize President-elect Trump’s choice to head the Securities and Exchange Commission, faulting him for representing banks as a corporate lawyer.
The Trump transition team announced Wednesday morning that Trump would nominate Jay Clayton, a partner at corporate law firm Sullivan and Cromwell, as chairman of the SEC.
By early afternoon, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, had released a comment highly critical of Clayton’s candidacy.
“It’s hard to see how an attorney who’s spent his career helping Wall Street beat the rap will keep President-elect Trump’s promise to stop big banks and hedge funds from ‘getting away with murder,'” said Brown, without referring to anything specific from Clayton’s career.
Rep. Maxine Waters, the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, asked if Trump plans on “rewarding his pals on Wall Street.”
“Jay Clayton has made a career of representing big banks and investment houses on Wall Street, oftentimes in litigation with the federal government for allegations including foreclosure fraud that harmed low- and middle-income Americans,” Waters said. “As head of the SEC, Clayton will have the power to carry his pro-Wall Street agenda to the agency that is entrusted with regulating Wall Street.”
As a corporate lawyer, Clayton represented Goldman Sachs and Barclays banks, according to the Wall Street Journal, and advised in several major deals among banks during the financial crisis.
He would replace Obama appointee Mary Jo White, who was also a corporate lawyer before joining the regulatory agency.
