A trader works in the Goldman Sachs booth on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. (AP Photo / Richard Drew)
In what is turning into a pattern for the Trump administration, yet another nominee close to Wall Street—and Goldman Sachs in particular—is on his way to being confirmed for a top post. Jay Clayton, Trump’s choice for head of the Securities and Exchange Commission, will have his confirmation hearing on March 23. If confirmed, his job would be to act as a watchdog overseeing the excesses of Wall Street, but he has spent his career as a lawyer representing the same industry he would have to police. He is a longtime partner for Goldman Sachs’ “go to law firm” and advised the firm during the financial crisis. Moreover, his wife currently works at Goldman. One Congressional aide called him “the most financially conflicted SEC chairman in history.”
Senator Sherrod Brown pointed succinctly to the problems with Clayton’s nomination shortly after it was announced: “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.’”
We’ve joined with Our Revolution, Take on Wall Street, Public Citizen, and nine other groups in calling on the Senate to reject Jay Clayton as the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Click here to sign.
Back in February, Robert Borosage detailed the “epic bait-and-switch” that Trump pulled by making a promise to “drain the swamp” and end corruption in Washington, then filling his administration with Wall Street insiders.
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