In a dramatic 24+ hour series of events, the White House announced the President's intent to nominate SEC Chair Jay Clayton for US Attorney for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) for the term of four years to succeed Geoffrey Berman, who departed the position under pressure on Saturday. Deputy US Attorney Audrey Strauss assumed the role of Acting US Attorney pending further action on Clayton's nomination.
According to the WSJ:
A Justice Department official said that Mr. Clayton told administration officials he was considering leaving government but was interested in serving as top federal prosecutor in Manhattan and that Mr. Barr agreed it was a good idea.
The official said Mr. Barr also offered Mr. Berman a job leading the Justice Department’s civil division in Washington, after Jody Hunt announced this week he planned to resign, but Mr. Berman declined. Mr. Berman couldn’t be reached for comment on this matter.
Reached late Friday, Mr. Clayton declined to answer detailed questions but said he was “pending confirmation, fully committed to my job at the commission.”
Another WSJ article reported that Chair Clayton informed SEC staff on Friday that he would remain at the Commission until confirmed by the Senate.
Several media sources (e.g., The Hill, Buzz Feed, WSJ) noted that Sen. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) asked Chair Clayton to withdraw his name from consideration for the position. The WSJ further reported that Senate Judiciary Committee Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) won't advance Clayton's nomination without the support of Sens. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY).
In the meantime, as blogged last week and further to our report: "SEC Commissioner Peirce Renominated for Second Term," the White House announced on June 18 the President's intent to nominate Caroline Crenshaw for appointment to the SEC for a term expiring June 5, 2024 to succeed former Commissioner Jackson, who departed in February (see these articles from the WSJ and ThinkAdvisor). As previously reported, Crenshaw worked as an attorney in Jackson's office and previously worked under former Commissioner Kara Stein. On June 2nd, the White House nominated SEC Commissioner Peirce for reappointment to the Commission for a term expiring June 5, 2025.
A departure by SEC Chair Clayton to the SDNY could complicate efforts to finalize key pending rulemakings such as those concerning Rule 14a-8 (shareholder proposals) and proxy advisory firm reform by effectively giving any SEC Commissioner the ability to prevent the Commission from attaining quorum and, therefore, taking action.