The United States Senate confirmed Mary Jo White (left) Monday as the next chairwoman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, approving the former federal prosecutor in a unanimous-consent vote.
She will succeed Elisse Walter, who was named by President Barack Obama to succeed Mary Schapiro in December. White is expected to be sworn in as chairwoman within a few days.
White, 65, gained fame during her 10 years as a U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York for her prosecutions of organized crime figures and terrorist suspects.
Tim Johnson, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, said in a statement after White’s confirmation that “the SEC needs a strong leader in place as it works to implement Wall Street Reform, and that is exactly what the commission is getting with Mary Jo White.” Said o: “After meeting her, listening to her testimony, and closely reviewing her qualifications, it came as no surprise that she received such overwhelming bipartisan support for her confirmation. I look forward to working with her as the SEC addresses a range of rules and policy issues that include the Volcker Rule, derivatives, credit rating agencies, hedge funds, standards for broker-dealers and investment advisers, corporate disclosures, market structure and money market funds to name just a few.”