Senate Confirms SEC Commissioner Nominees

The U.S. Senate has confirmed Hester Peirce and Robert Jackson as SEC commissioners by unanimous consent. The confirmations were temporarily blocked by Democratic Senator Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin who requested that the nominees clarify their views on a number of topics, including executive pay, stock buybacks, and activist investors. Both Peirce and Jackson responded to the senator’s questions in individual letters dated December 8.  Once Peirce and Jackson are sworn in, the SEC will be operating with a full complement of commissioners for the first time since 2015, according to the Wall Street Journal.