Hester Peirce likely to be nominee for SEC commissioner: sources

Hester Peirce, a former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission counsel and Senate aide, is the Trump administration’s likely choice to fill the open Republican seat at the Wall Street regulator, according to people familiar with the matter.

Should President Donald Trump pick Peirce to be an SEC commissioner, her nomination will likely be paired with a candidate backed by Senate Democrats for another vacant seat at the agency, according to the people, who weren’t authorized to speak publicly about the process. Candidates that have been discussed for the Democratic spot include Robert Jackson, a Columbia University law professor, and Bharat Ramamurti, an aide to Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the people said.

Peirce is a research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University who has been sharply critical of the regulatory expansion enacted in response to the 2008 financial crisis. Peirce and Ramamurti declined to comment.

Jackson and a White House spokeswoman didn’t respond to requests for comment. Trump’s SEC nominees would need to be confirmed by the Senate.