By Katanga Johnson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House announced on Thursday that President Donald Trump intends to nominate Caroline Crenshaw to fill a Democratic vacancy at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Crenshaw, a senior SEC attorney, would fill a commissioner slot that has been vacant since February, when Rob Jackson, whom Crenshaw advised, left to return to his teaching post.
If confirmed by the Senate, Crenshaw would help balance out the top markets regulator, where there are currently two Republican commissioners and one Democratic commissioner, Allison Lee. The SEC is chaired by Jay Clayton, an independent who frequently votes with Republicans.
Reuters reported that Crenshaw was expected to be nominated for the post in January. She declined to comment on Thursday on the nomination.
Crenshaw has been employed at the SEC since 2013 and is a judge advocate in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's Corps. She previously worked under another Democratic commissioner at the SEC, Kara Stein, who left in January.
Her nomination will now be considered by the Republican-controlled Senate, which is already considering the re-nomination of Hester Peirce, a Republican SEC commissioner, to serve a second term that expires in 2025.
"Crenshaw is smart, knowledgeable, incredibly hard-working, and dedicated to the cause of promoting investor protection and market integrity. Plus, she knows the agency inside and out. We couldn't have asked for a better nominee," said Barbara Roper, the director of investor protection for the Washington-based Consumer Federation of America.