Three Securities and Exchange Commission nominees won approval from the Senate Banking Committee on Wednesday, according to press reports. Their nominations are now being sent to the full Senate, where reportedly they are likely to be confirmed.
One of the nominees, Troy Paredes, was named by President Bush in May to fill a Republican slot on the five-member SEC that will become vacant when Paul Atkins makes his expected departure soon. In March, the White House tapped two securities lawyers, Luis Aguilar and Elisse Walter, for two Democratic seats that have been vacant for several months.
Paredes is a professor at the Washington University School of Law in St. Louis. Walter currently serves as senior vice president of regulatory policy and programs at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. Aguilar is a partner with McKenna, Long & Aldridge in Atlanta.
Walter and Aguilar were originally recommended to President Bush by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid last year, but nomination of the two Democrat nominees has been held up by political wrangling between the President and Congress over more than 200 political posts.
Since January, the SEC has had only three Republican commissioners, one of whom is Atkins. The SEC, normally made up of five commissioners, may have no more than three members from the president’s party.