Trump’s OCC Nominee Dodges Scrutiny as Senators Focus on SEC Pick Atkins
Paul Atkins and Jonathan Gould during a Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee confirmation hearing in Washington, DC, on March 27.
Photographer: Annabelle Gordon/SIPA/AP PhotoDonald Trump’s pick to lead the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency escaped intense questioning during his Senate nomination hearing Thursday as lawmakers instead focused their heaviest scrutiny on the president’s nominee for head of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
During a joint nomination hearing Thursday, members of the Senate Banking Committee asked few questions of Jonathan Gould, a former senior deputy comptroller and chief counsel at the OCC, while Paul Atkins, Trump’s pick to lead the SEC, was met with stiff opposition from Democratic lawmakers over potential conflicts of interest and support of deregulation.