Gary Gensler confirmed by the Senate that he should lead the SEC, Wall Street’s top regulator

Gary Gensler will lead the Securities and Exchange Commission after the Senate voted 53-45 on Wednesday to confirm his nomination as the country’s largest financial regulator.

Gensler, who was chosen for the role by President Joe Biden, will now play a key role in enforcing and drafting the rules governing Wall Street, investors and a wide range of other financial institutions.

Now, with the SEC commissioners having a 3-2 Democratic majority, Gensler is likely to have a long to-do list after deciding on his new post.

Progressive people expect the 63-year-old to keep his promises to explore a range of topics, including digital currencies, the GameStop trading mania and how corporate America prioritizes environmental, social and governance issues.

Sen. Sherrod Brown, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, quickly praised Gensler after the vote.

“Mr. Gensler will lead the SEC at a time when it has become increasingly clear to most people that the stock market is detached from the reality of working families’ lives,” the Democrats in Ohio said. “Mr. Gensler will bring back the SEC’s focus on the people who make this country work and insist on ensuring that markets are a way for families to save and invest for their children’s education, a down payment on ‘ a home and for a safe retirement – not a game for hedge fund managers where workers always lose. ‘

Gensler, a former CEO of Goldman Sachs, is perhaps best known in Washington for his uncompromising work at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, where he devised the regulatory framework for the billion-dollar derivatives market.

Democrats and Republicans asked Gensler in March if he would investigate the payment for order flows and game-like tactics used by brokers to lure customers to their platforms. Both topics received attention on Capitol Hill this year after the wild trading in GameStop, AMC Entertainment and other stocks in January.

Gensler also noted potential problems with the current structure of payment flow orders, a common practice on Wall Street in which trading companies, such as Citadel Securities, pay companies to send their customers’ orders for execution to them.

Asked how the SEC should regulate bitcoin and other digital assets, he replied that the responsibility could fall on the government, depending on how assets such as bitcoin are classified. One of his earliest and most anticipated decisions as head of the SEC is to allow the creation of a bitcoin exchange-traded fund.

Rank member Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., Asked in March for Gensler’s thoughts on Nasdaq’s pressure to increase diversity on corporate boards.

Republicans have rejected a recent plan the exchange operator submitted to the SEC that requires thousands of companies listed on the stock exchange to include women, racial minorities and LGBT individuals on their boards.

Gensler responded by addressing the benefits of diversity wider and among the ranks at the SEC.