Obama nominating 2 women for SEC
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission headquarters in Washington. The SEC alleges that Newport Beach lawyer Emilio Francisco misspent at least $9.5 million from 131 investors.
President Barack Obama is nominating two women, both attorneys and academics at Washington-area universities, as members of the Securities and Exchange Commission to fill vacancies on the five-member SEC.
The White House announced the nominations Tuesday.
They are Lisa Fairfax, a Democrat, who teaches law at George Washington University, and Hester Peirce, a Republican, who heads a financial markets program at George Mason University and was formerly a Senate aide.
If they are confirmed by the Senate, four of the five SEC commissioners will be women.
The independent agency oversees Wall Street and the financial markets. It is headed by Mary Jo White, a former federal prosecutor and attorney in private practice. White is an Independent. The other two commissioners are Kara Stein, a Democrat, and Michael Piwowar, a Republican.
