8. Kennedy won widespread praise for the reforms he established in the exchanges
When Kennedy entered the office of Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission it was under a six-month probationary period, after which he would be confirmed by the Senate or dismissed. In 1935 the Washington Post reported, “Kennedy has done one of the best jobs of anyone connected with the New Deal and has done it without bluster or publicity-seeking…” Editor John T. Flynn of the New Republic, one of the harshest critics of Kennedy receiving the appointment, changed his mind and called Kennedy one of the most useful members of the commission. Praise came from Wall Street as well, according to the Wall Street Journal in 1935.
Kennedy drew a larger wake through the Roosevelt Administration than the public realized. His success in creating and implementing the new regulations and safeguards in the nation’s exchanges reflected well on the man who appointed him – FDR. The president, beset with difficulties in several of the New Deal programs, began to frequently call on Kennedy for advice on issues, or to ask him to troubleshoot difficulties as they arose. Kennedy was at the White House (or Roosevelt visited him at his nearby estate) several times per week. He was widely considered a rising star within the Democratic Party, though for the time Roosevelt needed him where he was.