WASHINGTON, Sept. 18 (UPI) -- The White House said Thursday U.S. President George Bush has full confidence in Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Chris Cox.
White House press secretary Dana Perino said in an e-mail the president remains confident in Cox's leadership after Republican presidential candidate John McCain said he'd fire the SEC chairman because he "betrayed the people's trust," The Hill reported. McCain did not mention Cox by name in his remarks about the financial markets crisis during a stopover in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Senate Democratic leaders criticized McCain for the remark. Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairman Charles Schumer of New York and Majority Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois said McCain's remarks were no more than an effort to distract voters from McCain's support of deregulation.
"Three of us served with Cox in the House," Reid said. "This is McCain-style politics: Go after the first person you can to divert attention from your failures."
Cox represented California in the House from 1989 to 2005. He was confirmed unanimously by the Senate when Bush appointed him SEC chief in 2005.
