Senate confirms Wall Street critic Gary Gensler to head Securities and Exchange Commission

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Peter Weber
·1 min read
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The Senate on Wednesday confirmed President Biden's pick to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission, Gary Gensler, 53 to 45. Gensler, a former Goldman Sachs partner who cracked down on Wall Street as head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission after the 2008 financial crisis, has laid out an ambitious ramping up of regulatory enforcement after four years of deregulation.

Along with policing Wall Street banks, Gensler will also have to contend with the rise of "stonks," or meme stocks like GameStop, and special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs). The Chamber of Commerce endorsed Gensler's nomination, suggesting he will be "a balanced leader of the SEC and strong supporter of competitive capital markets." But only three Republicans — Susan Collins (Maine), Chuck Grassley (Iowa), and Cynthia Lummis (Wyo.) — voted to confirm him.

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