Schakowsky Statement on Jay Clayton for SEC Chair

Today, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky released the following statemment after reports that Jay Clayton would be chosen to head the Securities and Exchange Commission:

"Jay Clayton has spent his career defending the interests of Wall Street. He has helped big banks like Goldman Sachs and Barclays avoid paying taxes and dodge government regulations. He has no government experience and has never served as a prosecutor. Now, Donald Trump has chosen him to head the Securities and Exchange Commission, the watchdog that oversees the very banks Clayton has spent his career defending.

Make no mistake. This appointment makes Wall Street banks breathe a sigh of relief. With Clayton in charge of the SEC, they hope to go back to the “wild west” days of Wall Street that led to the 2007-2008 financial crisis and the job loss and pain that came in its aftermath.

Clayton fits right in with the rest of Donald Trump’s team: a group of mostly male, mostly white, extremely wealthy individuals who have laughably little government experience and, for the most part, have never done anything to improve the lives of working men and women."

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