President Donald Trump has nominated Caroline Crenshaw to be a member of the Securities and Exchange Commission, filling the Democratic seat left vacant by the resignation of Commissioner Robert Jackson.

The White House made the announcement Thursday. Crenshaw currently serves as senior counsel at the SEC and as a captain in the United States Army Reserve, Judge Advocate General’s Corps.

If her nomination is approved by the U.S. Senate, Crenshaw would serve until mid-2024. Her nomination was recommended to Trump by Senate Democrats in late 2019.

Crenshaw has been with the SEC since 2013 and served as counsel to Jackson in addition to former Commissioner Kara Stein. Crenshaw has worked in the SEC’s 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,” the White House said.

Crenshaw previously worked as a lawyer with the Washington, D.C. branch of law firm Sutherland, Asbill and Brennan.

Jackson, often a voice of dissent on the five-member SEC, left the agency in February to return to work as a law professor. Although his term expired in June 2019, commissioners can serve for up to 18 months after the expiration of their term before their replacement is confirmed by the Senate.

Designed to be non-partisan, the SEC is structured to have two Democratic commissioners, two Republicans and one independent, a position currently held by SEC Chairman Jay Clayton.

The appointment of Crenshaw as an SEC commissioner would give the board a female majority, as she would join current Commissioners Hester Peirce and Allison Herren Lee. This previously occurred in 2009-11 under President Barack Obama, when Chairwoman Mary Schapiro served with Commissioners Kathleen Casey and Elisse Walter, according to the SEC’s historical summary.

 

Aaron Nicodemus covers regulatory policy and compliance trends for Compliance Week. He previously worked as a reporter for Bloomberg Law and as business editor at the Telegram & Gazette in Worcester, Mass.

Topics