SEC Commissioner Lee to Step Down

By Melanie Waddell

News March 15, 2022 at 09:13 AM

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Securities and Exchange Commissioner Allison Herren Lee, a Democrat, said Tuesday that she plans to leave her post.

Lee said in a statement that she has notified President Joe Biden that she intends to step down from the commission once her successor has been confirmed. Her term expires in June.

Commissioners can stay on up to 18 months after their term expires.

Commissioner Elad Roisman, a Republican, left the agency at the end of January.

Roisman's departure left the agency with only one Republican commissioner, Hester Peirce.

"Serving investors and the public as a Commissioner and as Acting Chair has been an extraordinary honor," Lee said in a statement. "My fellow Commissioners and the Commission staff are dedicated and tireless public servants, and working alongside them has been the privilege of a lifetime."

Over the coming weeks and months, Lee said that she'd "remain actively engaged in the Commission's critically important work, and I look forward to continued progress in advancing the Commission's regulatory agenda."

During her brief stint as acting SEC chair, Lee gave senior officers in the agency's Enforcement Division the power to issue subpoenas, which can help speed investigations.

In November, Lee called on broker-dealers to "think broadly" about how their communications with clients might be recommendations under Regulation Best Interest.

Pictured: Commissioner Allison Herren Lee (Photo: SEC)

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