Hillary Clinton’s campaign will add to its top ranks a man who’s known for being tough on Wall Street.
Gary Gensler, the former chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, will serve as the Clinton campaign’s chief financial officer, Bloomberg reported.
Gensler would bring a wealth of knowledge about the financial industry, as well as the federal agencies that regulate it, to the newly launched campaign.
He was chairman of the CFTC, the government agency that oversees the derivatives markets, from 2009 to 2014. He previously served in senior Treasury Department roles under President Bill Clinton, and prior to joining the Clinton administration worked at Goldman Sachs for almost 20 years.
Bart Chilton, a former CFTC commissioner who served alongside Gensler, told CNN that Gensler was an “effective leader” at the agency, adept at juggling the demands of working with lawmakers on Capitol Hill and regulating the financial sector.
“Secretary Clinton will be well served by his financial and strategic acumen,” Chilton said. “I know he’s deeply committed to the Secretary, and to her public policy agenda.”
It was in his capacity as CFTC chairman that Gensler developed a tough-on-Wall-Street reputation. He played a key role in the implementation of the 2010 Dodd-Frank law, a major Wall Street reform package enacted under Obama in the aftermath of the financial crisis. Financial reform advocates have credited Gensler for his tough oversight of the complex futures and swaps markets.
Clinton’s decision to appoint Gensler to a senior position in her campaign is significant, particularly given the scrutiny the former secretary of state has received for her relationship with the finance industry.
She has made upward mobility for the middle class a central theme of her campaign, and in her first days on the trail, Clinton has been striking a notably populist tone. Just this week, for example, she declared in Iowa that hedge fund managers shouldn’t be paying lower taxes than average Americans.
Attempts to reach Gensler by phone and email were unsuccessful. A Clinton spokesperson declined to comment.
