President-elect Donald Trump said Wednesday he plans to nominate Wall Street lawyer Jay Clayton to head the Securities and Exchange Commission, which regulates financial markets in the U.S.
Clayton currently works as a partner with the law firm Sullivan & Cromwell where he specializes in public and private mergers and has worked on several high-profile initial public offerings.
In a statement announcing his selection, Trump said Clayton is a “highly talented expert on many aspects of financial and regulatory law.” Keeping with his campaign promises to cut regulations that have “stifled investment,” Trump said Clayton will “ensure our financial institutions can thrive and create jobs while playing by the rules at the same time.”
Clayton, in a statement, thanked Trump for the nomination and said he will work with financial stakeholders to restore confidence in American investments.
“We will carefully monitor our financial sector, as we set policy that encourages American companies to do what they do best: create jobs,” Clayton said.
Clayton has previously represented the Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Barclays Capital Inc., further deepening the ties between Trump’s cabinet picks and the Wall Street firms Trump has promised to rein in.
Clayton’s law firm bio shows that he represented large financial institutions following the mortgage crisis in 2008 and helped secure settlements with the government on behalf of those institutions.
