After four years at the SEC, Commissioner Daniel Gallagher plans to resign, Bloomberg reported May 12. He will stay on the job until a successor is confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
Gallagher is a harsh critic of the DOL's "conflicted advice" rule. Most recently, he described the DOL's efforts to promulgate the rule as "a runaway train" at an SEC event in February. At that event, he also characterized the leaked White House memo about the rule as "thinly veiled propaganda designed to generate support for a widely unpopular rulemaking. Seven years after the height of the financial crisis, it is obvious that some remain intent on not letting it go to waste,” Gallagher observed.
Gallagher’s decision means that President Obama will now nominate two new members to the five-member board. The current term of Commissioner Luis Aguilar expires next month. Reportedly, the White House has identified candidates to replace Gallagher and Aguilar, including Keir Gumbs of Covington & Burling and Phillip Khinda of Steptoe and Johnson. Both men are former SEC attorneys.
