Senate confirms Jaime Lizárraga, Mark Uyeda as SEC commissioners

Jaime Lizárraga and Mark Uyeda were each confirmed by voice vote Thursday after having been nominated for their positions by President Joe Biden in April. With their appointments, the SEC will be fully staffed at five commissioners.

Lizárraga, a Democrat, is senior adviser to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. He previously served on the Democratic staff of the House Financial Services Committee and as a presidential appointee at the Treasury Department and the SEC.

Lizárraga will replace Commissioner Allison Herren Lee, who is stepping down from the SEC at the end of the month after serving since 2019, including a stint as acting chair. His term as commissioner will expire in June 2027.

Uyeda, a Republican and career attorney with the SEC, is currently on detail from the agency to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. He has over 25 years of experience in corporate and securities law and has been with the SEC since 2006.

Uyeda will fill the remaining term vacated when former Republican Commissioner Elad Roisman resigned in January. The term will end in June 2023.

Roisman has since joined the law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore as a partner.

“We congratulate Jaime Lizárraga and Mark Uyeda on their successful Senate confirmations to serve as commissioners,” said the SEC’s four current commissioners in a statement. “… We look forward to their many contributions to the agency and our work on behalf of the American public.”

Lizárraga and Uyeda will join Chair Gary Gensler, Caroline Crenshaw, and Hester Peirce as commissioners.

Pelosi praised Lizárraga’s confirmation as “a momentous victory for working families and the country” in a statement.

“Jaime’s brilliance, expertise, and personal kindness will be sorely missed by my office and the Congress—but our nation will benefit greatly from his continued public service,” she said.

Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Penn.), ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, offered congratulations to Uyeda via Twitter: “I know Mark is destined to do great things and will faithfully carry out the agency’s mission. The Banking Committee’s loss is investors’ gain.”