Sen. John McCain told 60 Minutes last night that if elected president, he would seek to name New York AG Andrew Cuomo as Chairman of the SEC. On the program, McCain acknowledged that he had been incorrect when he said that he would “fire” SEC Chairman Christopher Cox if were elected president, according to Politico.com:
McCain: “Technically he can’t be, quote, fired. But I’ll tell you: When I’m President, if I want somebody to resign, they resign.”
Pelley: “I’m curious. If you wanna fire Chris Cox, the chairman of the SEC, who would you replace him with?”
McCain: “This may sound a little— unusual, but I’ve admired— Andrew Cuomo …”
Pelley: “He’s a Democrat.”
McCain: “Oh, yes.”
Pelley: “He served in the cabinet of President Clinton.”
McCain: “Yes. And he did a good job. And he has respect. And he has prestige.”
Cuomo’s spokesman told Politico.com that “It is inappropriate to comment because of our ongoing investigations into short-selling during last week’s market turmoil, as well as other market investigations we are currently conducting in conjunction with the SEC.”
