Political friction and vacancies in top posts at the Securities and Exchange Commission have increased the likelihood that Chairwoman Mary Jo White could remain in the job beyond the end of President Barack Obama's term.
White has privately told agency officials that people with ties to both the Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump campaigns have asked if she would consider staying on to give the next president time to pick a successor, said people familiar with the matter.
White said she expects any holdover to be brief, according to one of the people who spoke to the SEC chief and asked not to be named because the conversation was private.
Should White depart when a new president is sworn in, Wall Street's main regulator could slip into paralysis because it would be down to just two commissioners who vote on policy and enforcement actions.
Democrat Kara Stein and Republican Michael Piwowar often disagree on market regulation and legal settlements with financial firms. There are two vacancies on the commission.
Still, keeping White around even temporarily could carry risks, especially for Clinton, because key members of the Democratic party's liberal base consider the SEC chief to be too soft on the finance industry.
In one sign of the opposition's vigor, progressive standard bearer Sen. Elizabeth Warren demanded earlier this month that Obama replace White even though he's set to leave office at the end of January.
No Outreach
"No one working for, or volunteering for, our transition effort has been in touch with the chair of the SEC," said Brian Fallon, Clinton's campaign spokesman.
A spokeswoman for White declined to comment. Trump's campaign didn't respond to requests for comment.
Both sides have opened transition offices in downtown Washington. Clinton and Trump are expected to move forward quickly on nominees to head the SEC.
Should Clinton win, the appointment of regulatory posts is expected to expose fissures within the Democratic party between liberals and more moderate, pro-business camps. The financial industry, which has contributed heavily to Clinton, is concerned about who gets picked to lead the Treasury Department, the National Economic Council and the SEC.
