Jay Clayton could have his day (or days) on Capitol Hill early next month, and some key Republican Senators sound like they're already Clayton fans.

Jay Clayton Sullivan & Cromwell Partner

Clayton, President Donald Trump's pick to replace Mary Jo White as Chair of the SEC, could get his hearing the week of February 6, unnamed sources tell Sarah Lynch of Reuters. Trump officially picked Clayton, a Wall Street M&A lawyer and a partner at Sullivan & Cromwell, on January 4, and White planned to step down as Barack Obama left the presidency last week. Unnamed sources tell Reuters that, as expected, Republican SEC Commissioner Michael Piwowar is acting chairman in the meantime.

Democrats won't be able to stop Clayton's appointment without help from Republicans, Reuters notes. And so far Republicans seem to be warming to him.

Yesterday morning, as fundsters and the rest of Wall Street prepared to celebrate Dow 20,000, U.S. Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, tweeted that he met with Clayton yesterday. Crapo praised Clayton as "an impressive nominee for SEC chair."

Senators Richard Shelby (R-Alabama), Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas), and Patrick Toomey (R-Pennsylvania), all members of Crapo's committee, met with Clayton last week, Reuters reports. And on Tuesday this week, on the same day he met with Crapo himself, Clatyon also met with Senator David Perdue (R-Georgia), the wire service notes.

"Jay knows capital formation. He wants to create a level playing field and make things fair efficient," Perdue reportedly said. "I full support his nomination."

Senators Sherrod Brown and Elizabeth Warren, both Democrats on the committee, have both reportedly "expressed reservations about Clayton" thanks to the nominee's Wall Street ties. (For instance, Clayton has represented Goldman Sachs. His wife also works there, though unnamed sources tell Reuters that Clayton and his wife's plan is for her to step down from Goldman if he gets confirmed as SEC Chair.) 

Edited by: Neil Anderson, Managing Editor


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