The White House's Tuesday announcement ends months of speculation about who would take over for former Commissioner Daniel Gallagher, a Republican who left the SEC earlier this month, and current Commissioner Luis Aguilar, a Democrat whose term expired this summer. (Credit: Law360)
The announcement ends months of speculation about who would take over for former Commissioner Daniel Gallagher, a Republican who left the SEC earlier this month, and current Commissioner Luis Aguilar, a Democrat who has been in his seat for more than seven years and whose term expired this summer.
“I am honored that these talented individuals have decided to serve our country. They bring their years of experience and expertise to this administration, and I look forward to working with them,” President Barack Obama said in a statement accompanying the nomination of Fairfax and others to top administration posts.
The nominations of both Peirce and Fairfax had been expected for weeks, although the process for advancing their names reportedly was beset by delays due in part to a push by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., for a Democrat nominee with fewer Wall Street ties.
Fairfax, currently a professor at George Washington University Law School, teaches securities law and has written about shareholder activism. She has worked in academia for much of the past 15 years and, prior to that, was an associate at Ropes & Gray LLP, where she worked on venture capital transactions and mergers and acquisitions.
Fairfax also recently joined the SEC’s Investor Advisory Committee, a group of outside experts set up by the Dodd-Frank Act who advise the agency on a variety of potential regulatory considerations.
Peirce is presently a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, where she focuses on securities regulation and has published on the topic, including a book titled “Dodd-Frank: What It Does and Why It’s Flawed.”
Previously, she worked for Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., as part of his staff on the Senate Banking Committee during the financial crisis and the passage of Dodd-Frank. She also has been at the SEC, serving as counsel to Republican Paul Atkins from 2004 to 2008, and working within the agency’s Division of Investment Management before that. She currently is a member of the SEC's Investor Advisory Committee.
Fairfax did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment on Tuesday. Peirce declined to comment.
In a statement, SEC Chair Mary Jo White congratulated the two prospective members. “As their confirmation process moves forward, the commission remains focused on its critical work to protect America's investors and our markets," she said.
A Senate confirmation hearing has yet to be scheduled.
In the meantime, Aguilar, one of two Democratic members of the SEC, appears to be intent to stay at the agency. In a statement, a representative of the commissioner said that Aguilar “remains focused on the commission’s important mission” and gives his congratulations to Fairfax and Peirce.
Although the two would-be members have yet to get started, the political tug-of-war over their priorities has already begun.
In a release issued soon after the nominations were announced, top Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee said they would ask the nominees to support a potential SEC rule to require public companies to disclose their political spending.
“With Republicans refusing to enact any campaign finance legislation in Congress, the best hope we have to shed light on the millions of dollars’ worth of dark money in the near future lies with the SEC,” one of the Democrats, Sen. Charles Schumer of New York, said in a statement.
“I hope that both nominees will support a corporate disclosure rule, and I look forward to discussing their views on this important issue throughout the confirmation process.”
--Editing by Stephen Berg. Photo by Jimmy Hoover.
