Securities and Exchange Commissioner Robert Jackson, Jr. has indicated that he plans to leave the SEC next month.
Jackson, one of the two Democratic commissioners at the SEC, said Jan. 16 that he will step down on Feb. 14 to return to teaching at New York University School of Law, where he is on leave.
“Today [Jan. 16], Commissioner Jackson, having completed his term, announced his intention to leave the SEC. On many occasions over the past two years, I and the Commission have benefited from substantive engagement with Commissioner Jackson on a range of issues important to our markets,” Chairman Jay Clayton said in a statement. “I will miss discussing policy issues with Rob, including how the Commission can continue to advance its three-part mission and best serve our Main Street investors.”
Jackson’s term expired in June 2019, but commissioners are permitted to stay on for an additional 18 months until a replacement is confirmed. He has been serving since January 2018, filling the open seat formerly held by Luis Aguilar, who departed in December 2015.
Jackson was the lone Democrat on the Commission when the Regulation Best Interest package was under consideration and cast the lone “no” vote on all four issues before the SEC, complaining that the package did not raise the standard for investment advice.
Jackson’s departure will leave Allison Lee as the lone Democratic commissioner. Lee was confirmed last June to fill the open Democratic seat that was vacated by former Commissioner Kara Stein, who left the agency at the beginning of 2019.
President Trump has not yet named a nominee to replace Jackson, but Reuters reports that Jackson’s counsel Caroline Crenshaw is reportedly under consideration. Crenshaw has served in that post since 2018 and previously worked for Stein after joining the SEC in 2013.
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 Democrats Jackson and Lee, as well as Republicans Hester Peirce, Elad Roisman and Chairman Jay Clayton.
SEC Commissioners require Senate confirmation, and the process can take several months from the time a nominee is named.
