Bloomberg: If SEC Commissioner Crenshaw's nomination continues to stall, Paul Atkins may fill his vacancy

The U.S. Senate's vote on SEC Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw's reelection remains "pending." If the nomination continues to stall, President-elect Trump may choose Republican Paul Atkins to fill her vacant seat on the Big Five Commissioner list because her term has expired. Under statute, Crenshaw can only serve at the SEC until January 2026 if no one else is confirmed to her position. Trump announced Atkins earlier this month as his pick to head the agency. Chairman Gary Gensler and Commissioner Jaime Lizárraga, both Democrats, plan to leave the SEC in January. The SEC can have up to five commissioners, but no more than three from the same political party. Tyler Gellasch, president of the Healthy Markets Association, a trade group, said failure to confirm Crenshaw for a second term could cause the agency to lose important momentum for diverse political viewpoints. “A shift to single-party control of the SEC means the agency’s rules and enforcement efforts could swing from one ideological extreme to another, seriously jeopardizing America’s position as a leading global market,” Gellasch said in an emailed statement Dec. 10. Senator Tim Scott, the committee’s top Republican, said last week that he opposes efforts to push Crenshaw and other Biden nominees through the “lame duck” session. “The Democrats’ last-minute push to ram through President Biden’s nominees is a blatant attempt to obstruct President Trump’s agenda,” Scott said in an emailed statement Dec. 6. (Bloomberg)