“There’s no doubt that Mr. Gensler knows a lot about the securities markets but based on his record. I’m concerned that he’ll stray from the SEC’s tradition of bipartisanship by using the agency’s regulatory powers to advance a liberal social agenda on issues such as climate change, political spending and racial inequality. Securities laws are not the appropriate vehicle to address these social and cultural issues and when I pressed Mr. Gensler on this subject he provided no assurances he would not use the SEC to pursue a social and cultural agenda,” Toomey said.
“For instance, I asked him if it’s a good idea for companies to be forced or pressured to comply with quotas with respect to race, gender and sexual orientation of their board members and in response Mr. Gensler echoed what advocates of such quotas typically say, which is that diversity on boards benefits decision making,” he said.
Specifically, Toomey asked Gensler at the committee’s March 2 hearing if he thought Nasdaq’s rule proposal to require boards of directors to diversify was a good idea.
“I do think that diversity on boards and diversity in senior leadership benefits decision making and it’s something I’m committed to at the SEC and the leadership there. I think it’s a positive step forward in leadership at the SEC,” Gensler said.
Toomey also said he was concerned about how Gensler would handle fallout from the Gamestop trading halts that rocked investors in February. “Based on Mr. Gensler’s answers to questions from other senators about recent stock market volatility, I’m also concerned that he’s sympathetic to the paternalistic push by some to impose regulations that would make investing more expensive and more difficult for retail investors,” Toomey said. “In the end this hearing has not alleviated my concerns about Mr. Gensler. ... Instead it has reinforced and heightened my concerns and as a result I can not support Mr. Gensler.”