This year, two new members of the S.E.C., one Democrat and one Republican, have been confirmed by the Senate and are about to be sworn in. They were each nominated by President Obama. But the reality appears to be that he did not really choose them.
Instead, they were effectively chosen by senior senators. Both the Republican, Michael S. Piwowar, and the Democrat, Kara M. Stein, were aides on the Senate Banking Committee…..That helps to explain why the S.E.C. has in recent years splintered into factions far more than ever before. “They tend,” said Arthur Levitt, the chairman of the S.E.C. from 1993 to 2001, “to embrace the philosophy of their mentors.”
via Independent Agencies, Sometimes in Name Only – NYTimes.com
