President Trump announced June 18 that he has nominated Caroline A. Crenshaw to fill the open Democratic commissioner slot at the Securities and Exchange Commission.
If confirmed by the Senate, Crenshaw would serve for a term expiring June 5, 2024, replacing Robert Jackson, Jr., who departed the Commission in February, after his term expired in June 2019. (Commissioners are permitted to serve up to an additional 18 months beyond the expiration of their term.)
Crenshaw would appear to be quite familiar with the operations of the SEC, having served as counsel to Jackson since 2018 and previously working for former Commissioner Kara Stein after she joined the SEC in 2013.She also served in the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations, and the Division of Investment Management. Her work has focused on legal and policy analysis related to corporate governance, investment management, enforcement, international regulation and the oversight of self-regulatory organizations.
Before joining the SEC, Crenshaw practiced law in the Washington, D.C. office of Sutherland, Asbill and Brennan LLP, where she represented public companies, broker-dealers and investment advisers on securities law investigations and enforcement matters. She also currently serves as a Captain in the U.S. Army Reserve, Judge Advocate General’s Corps.
Crenshaw received her undergraduate degree from Harvard College in 2004 and her law degree from the University of Minnesota Law School in 2009.
She would join Allison Lee as the other Democratic commissioner. Lee was confirmed in June 2019 to fill the open Democratic seat that was vacated by former Commissioner Stein, who left the agency at the beginning of 2019.
Peirce Renominated
President Trump also recently announced that he nominated current Commissioner Hester Peirce to a second term that would expire June 5, 2025. Peirce, a Republican whose current term expired June 5, has served since December 2017, where she filled the open seat vacated by former Commissioner Daniel Gallagher, who stepped down in October 2015.
Peirce has been a vocal defender of the SEC’s Regulation Best Interest, including at the 2018 NAPA DC Fly-In Forum in Washington, DC, where she argued that the rule would set clear standards, even though the word “fiduciary” was not directly incorporated in the proposal.
Both Crenshaw’s and Peirce’s nominations will be subject to Senate approval, although Peirce may continue to serve up to an additional 18 months. In general, to ensure the impartiality of the SEC, no more than three of the five commissioners may be from the same political party. The current makeup of the SEC includes Democrat Lee and Republicans Peirce, Elad Roisman and Chairman Jay Clayton.
