WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), a senior member of the Banking, Housing & Urban Development Committee, questioned SEC Chairman nominee Jay Clayton today on his views of the SEC’s enforcement powers, specifically the ability of senior enforcement staff to issue subpoenas, and the CEO-to-worker pay disclosure rule, mandated by a provision Menendez wrote in Dodd-Frank. Mr. Clayton refused to answer Senator Menendez’s questions, even saying that they were “good questions,” without providing further explanation (3-minute mark).

Senator Menendez was incredulous that the nominee refused to say if he would, as Chair, re-open the comment period on the CEO-to-worker pay disclosure rule which has been in place for nearly 18 months. Menendez tweeted a video of the exchange, saying, “Pres.Trump's nominee to police Wall Street basically said in his job interview: ‘I don't know what I'd do in this job.’ That's outrageous.” [starts at 5:10]

Earlier, Senator Menendez appeared on Bloomberg TV where he spoke about his concerns with SEC Acting Chair Michael Piwowar and SEC Chair nominee Jay Clayton following provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Law. In particular, Senator Menendez spoke about the CEO-to-worker pay disclosure rule, mandated by a provision he wrote in Dodd-Frank, the need for the SEC to enforce the law as it is written, and his desire for Jay Clayton to recuse himself from cases involving Goldman Sachs.

###