Senate OKs tough former regulator as market watchdog chief

The Senate has approved President Joe Biden’s choice to lead a key agency overseeing Wall Street. Gary Gensler was confirmed Wednesday to head the Securities and Exchange Commission. His arrival at the agency signals a new emphasis on investor protection after a move toward deregulation during the Trump administration. The vote Wednesday in the Senate to confirm Gensler was 53-45, mostly along party lines. Gensler was a markets regulator before, during the 2008-09 financial crisis. As chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, he tightened oversight of the complex financial transactions that helped cause the Great Recession.