Gary Gensler is just one of the Goldman Sachs alum who Obama has chosen to lead his economic team. Senator Sanders put a hold on the nomination, but Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid, told me at a press conference that he would "move forward" on the Gensler nomination despite the hold.
Though Senate leadership is not constitutionally bound to honor Sanders’ hold, Senate tradition is that even the most questionable holds are normally respected. Reid's decision to ignore this hold raises questions about the Democrats commitment to regulating Wall Street.
Barack Obama's plan to name yet another Goldman Sachs alum to his economic team is proving too much for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). Sanders put a hold on the nomination of Gary Gensler to head the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, effectively stopping the nomination process in its tracks. Sanders says Gensler, who spent 17 years at Goldman Sachs and then joined the Treasury Department under Bill Clinton, played too big a role in deregulating derivatives in the 90s' to be trusted to reregulate the market now.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), however, has told ANP that he plans "move forward" with Gensler's nomination despite Sanders' hold. To Christopher Hayes, Washington editor of The Nation Magazine, the Majority Leader's defense of Gensler and Goldman is a disturbing indication that it may be business as usual on the Hill when it comes to meaningful regulation on Wall Street.