WASHINGTON — The Senate Banking Committee advanced President Biden’s nominee to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission but has held up the nomination of the proposed head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
The nomination of Gary Gensler, Biden's pick to serve as chairman of the SEC, was advanced by the committee in a 14-10 vote and will be voted on by the full Senate. But the nomination if Rohit Chopra, Biden’s choice to lead the CFPB, will need to clear an additional procedural hurdle after the panel voted 12-12 on his confirmation.
Chopra’s nomination can still head to the Senate floor, but the Senate will need to vote on a motion to discharge it from committee.
The committee’s votes on Chopra and Gensler come on the heels of the Senate’s confirmation of Marcia Fudge as secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. More than a dozen Republicans joined all Senate Democrats Wednesday in approving Fudge's nomination.
Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, praised Chopra and Gensler for their commitment to help workers and families.
“Both nominees are committed to creating an economy that works for all workers,” Brown said. “Mr. Gensler’s leadership of the SEC is critical to assuring the agency meets the evolving needs of people whose hard earned savings are invested in the markets. Mr. Chopra is nominated to lead the CFPB at a time when the agency is needed more than ever to help struggling families weather the economic fallout from the pandemic.”
The committee’s top Republican, Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, opposed both nominations. Toomey said he was concerned about Chopra’s support for the CFPB’s enforcement regime when Richard Cordray led the agency from 2012 to 2017.
“Based on Mr. Chopra’s record, I am deeply concerned that he would return the CFPB to the hyperactive, sometimes lawbreaking, anti-business, unaccountable agency it was under the Obama administration,” Toomey said.
Toomey added that he is worried that Gensler will use the SEC to advance policies outside of its jurisdiction.
“There is no doubt that Mr. Gensler knows a lot about the securities markets, but based on his record, I am concerned that he will stray from the SEC’s tradition of bipartisanship, by using the agency’s regulatory powers to advance a liberal social agenda on issues such as climate change, political spending, and racial equality," Toomey said.
Correction: An earlier version of this story said that Rohot Chopra's nomination had advanced and was headed to the Senate floor for a vote.
