The Senate Banking Committee unanimously approved Elad Roisman's nomination to become an SEC commissioner on Thursday.
The final hurdle for Mr. Roisman's nomination is a vote in the full Senate, which has yet to be scheduled. Mr. Roisman, a Republican who now serves as chief counsel to the Senate Banking Committee, was nominated by the White House in June to replace Michael S. Piwowar, a Republican who resigned from the five-member commission this summer.
In testimony last month, Mr. Roisman told committee members that his work experience would benefit him in his return to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Prior to his current role with the Senate Banking Committee, he served as the SEC's senior counsel and securities counsel. From 2012 to mid-2014, he worked as counsel to Republican SEC Commissioner Daniel M. Gallagher, and before starting his career in government, worked in the legal department of NYSE Euronext and practiced corporate and securities law at Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy.
Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, chairman of the committee, said Mr. Roisman "has been a valued adviser and resource to many on the committee" and has "developed a vast knowledge of securities law in his previous roles."
Republican and Democratic SEC candidates traditionally are presented together for nomination in the Senate, but Democrats have yet to nominate someone to replace Commissioner Kara Stein, who is ineligible to serve past December. No more than three commissioners may belong to the same political party, so a fellow Democrat must replace Ms. Stein. Allison Lee, a former enforcement attorney at the SEC, is reportedly the Democrat's choice, but there has been no formal nomination.
The committee members did not discuss Mr. Roisman's nomination at length Thursday, instead focusing most of their attention on Kathleen Kraninger, who is nominated to become director of the of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Her nomination was approved along party lines in a 13-12 vote.
