Senate Confirms Jay Clayton for SEC Commissioner

The U.S. Senate on May 2 confirmed Jay Clayton’s nomination to chair the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) by a vote of 61-37. Clayton was previously a partner at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, an international law firm. Clayton was offically sworn in as SEC Chair yesterday.

Two of the SEC’s five commissioner slots remain vacant. President Trump has not yet announced nominees for open positions. One of the President’s nominees will have to be a registered Democrat, as each party is statutorily prohibited from having more than three commissioners at the same time.

The Senate Banking Committee held a hearing to consider Clayton’s nomination on March 23 and voted to favorably report his nomination on April 4 by a largely party-line vote of 15-8.