White Announces Departure as SEC Chief

Mary Jo White has announced that she will not be continuing as chairwoman of the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) in the upcoming Trump Administration.

White was named chairwoman of the SEC in April 2013, after previously serving as both a U.S. Attorney and an attorney representing major Wall Street firms. In a statement issued by her agency, White was congratulated for leadership that “strengthened protections for investors and the markets through transformative rulemakings that addressed major issues highlighted by the financial crisis.”

However, White’s tenure at the SEC was pockmarked with a steady stream of criticism from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), who used both congressional hearings and press statements to openly question White’s willingness to pursue executives and corporations that may have broken the law. In October, Warren took the unprecedented step of demanding that President Obama remove White from office—the president ignored the request.

President-Elect Trump has made no public comment on White’s work at the SEC, and it is uncertain who is favored by the incoming administration as her successor.