The White House on Wednesday sent to the Senate the nomination of Hester Peirce to be a commissioner at the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Peirce, a Republican, who's currently director of the Financial Markets Working Group and senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, would replace former SEC Commissioner Luis Aguilar. If confirmed by the full Senate, Peirce's term would expire on June 5, 2020.
The other Republican commissioner is Michael Piwowar. His term expires in 2018.
Democratic SEC Commissioner Kara Stein's term ended on June 5, but commissioners can stay on up to 18 months beyond their term, if not replaced by then. Stein's replacement would have a term that ended June 5, 2022, regardless of when he or she assumed the post.
When all vacancies are filled, the Commission consists of two Republicans and two Democrats plus the chairman.
Peirce, who has served as a lawyer for the Senate Banking Committee, was also nominated during the Obama administration along with Lisa Fairfax, a Democrat who is a law professor at George Washington University.
A vote on the two women to fill the two open SEC commissioner spots was derailed last April when four democratic members of the Senate Banking Committee cast no votes.
Senate Banking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala., then postponed the committee vote on the two SEC nominations. "We'll postpone the vote; there's a little confusion here," Shelby said during the April hearing.
