UP NEXT: SEC NOMINEES — With four Federal Reserve nominations almost in the rearview mirror, sources tell MM the White House is gearing up to decide on two picks for the Securities and Exchange Commission. The five-member commission currently has one vacancy, after Republican commissioner Elad Roisman stepped down in January. And Democratic commissioner Allison Lee said last week she would leave after her term expires in June, but not until her successor is confirmed. That gives President Joe Biden an opportunity to move a pair of nominees soon, with hopes of confirming them before November’s midterm elections. In the mix: Jaime Lizárraga, a long-time staffer of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Banking staffer Elisha Tuku and Fed lawyer Uzma Wahhab are all under consideration to replace Lee in the Democratic seat, people familiar with the matter say. One of the people, who is a former administration official, said Lizárraga was the leading contender for the job and had the backing of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. The agency has had only a handful of Hispanic commissioners in its history — the most recent was Luis Aguilar, who left in 2015. Lizárraga, a senior adviser to Pelosi, has worked for the California Democrat for more than 14 years and spent eight years before that as a House Financial Services aide. The White House declined to comment on any potential nominees. Tuku, the Democratic chief counsel for the Senate Banking Committee, was seen as a potential candidate for an SEC seat several years ago, but he wasn’t interested in the gig at the time and preferred to stay with the committee, one former senior Senate staffer told MM. Wahhab is an associate director in the Fed’s division of supervision and regulation. She previously spent six years at the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and eight years at the SEC. Mark Uyeda, an SEC lawyer currently detailed to the Republican staff of the Senate Banking Committee, is the likely candidate to fill the GOP vacancy, several people familiar with the matter say. It’s up to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to make a recommendation for the seat to the White House. Timing? Two people who spoke with us said they expected an announcement could come soon but cautioned that a final decision hadn’t yet been made. If Lee’s term expires before her successor is chosen, she could technically continue on in the position until the end of the following session of Congress — i.e. the end of 2023. But while she has offered to stay to avoid leaving the commission with just three members, she has made clear that she is ready to leave, those two people said. The urgency, as with most things on the administration’s to-do list, has to do with the electoral calendar. After Congress leaves for its August recess, it could become increasingly difficult to advance nominations through the Senate before the November midterm elections. One big question: After successfully derailing Sarah Bloom Raskin’s nomination, will the oil and gas sector try to throw its weight around on the SEC nominations? The answer is almost certainly yes, especially after Monday’s sweeping climate disclosure proposal by the agency. But they may not have as much success, given these two nominees will move as a pair, with Republicans and Democrats each getting someone they want. Still, we’d expect energy and climate issues to once again take up lots of air in the Senate Banking Committee when these nomination hearings roll around. WHERE ARE THE WALL STREET COPS? Meanwhile, our colleague Victoria Guida writes today about the Biden administration’s struggle to fill top regulatory jobs. Biden pledged to bring financial oversight back in style after four years of rule rollbacks under Donald Trump. But more than a year into his first term, none of the government's major bank regulators have Senate-confirmed leaders. From Victoria: “The result is that regulators have done little to reverse what many Democrats saw as a weakening of the guardrails around banks during the Trump administration. Progressive priorities, like making it tougher for banks to merge or pressing financial institutions to prepare for climate change, are moving slowly. And there’s no point person on the Fed board during an especially risky moment for the financial system as banks deal with soaring inflation, rising interest rates and disruption caused by the war in Ukraine.” It also underscores the fault lines within the Democratic party over how to approach financial regulation. “It raises real questions about just how narrow the path is for anybody to be appointed to these roles,” said Kathryn Judge, a professor at Columbia Law School. IT’S WEDNESDAY — Another day, another chance to hear the Fed chair — this time on a panel with his fellow central bankers. What else should we be watching? Let us know: kdavidson@politico.com, aweaver@politico.com, or on Twitter @katedavidson or @aubreeeweaver.
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