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April 3, 2009

Goldman vet sparks conflict on Hill

Obama's plan to name another Goldman Sachs alum to his economic team proving too much for Sen. Sanders

Barack Obama's plan to name yet another Goldman Sachs alum to his economic team is proving too much for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). Sanders put a hold on the nomination of Gary Gensler to head the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, effectively stopping the nomination process in its tracks. Sanders says Gensler, who spent 17 years at Goldman Sachs and then joined the Treasury Department under Bill Clinton, played too big a role in deregulating derivatives in the '90s to be trusted to reregulate the market now. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), however, has told ANP that he plans "move forward" with Gensler's nomination despite Sanders' hold. To Christopher Hayes, Washington editor of The Nation Magazine, the Majority Leader's defense of Gensler and Goldman is a disturbing indication that it may be business as usual on the Hill when it comes to meaningful regulation on Wall Street.