Jay Clayton’s Christmas list is pretty short: He wants the U.S. Attorney’s job for the Southern District of New York. Unfortunately for him, his patron and golfing buddy, the president of the United States, is very much on the naughty list for 78 million (and counting) American voters, and so the office he seeks is no longer really in Donald Trump’s gift. Unlike many others in the president’s orbit, Clayton seems to realize that the party’s over, as demonstrated by just how little he seems to care about his current job, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
But Jay Clayton is a rich man and can buy himself a pretty nice consolation prize to make up for this disappointment, and that is picking up and getting the hell out of Washington as soon as is practicable.
Jay Clayton, the former corporate deal lawyer who has led the Securities and Exchange Commission since 2017, is stepping down as chairman at the end of the year.
Clayton has said he wants to return to New York. Senior Democratic SEC Commissioner Allison Lee likely will be named to serve as acting chair….
And, given President-elect Joe Biden’s preferences for Clayton’s replacement, and the likelihood that Mitch McConnell will retain final say over presidential appointments, she might be acting as such for quite a long time.
Trump’s S.E.C. Chairman Is Stepping Down [DealBook]
Jay Clayton says he will step down early as head of the SEC at the end of 2020 [CNBC]