In a unanimous vote, the Senate confirmed Democrat Jaime Lizárraga and Republican Mark Uyeda this week to serve as the Securities and Exchange Commission’s newest Commissioners.
President Joe Biden nominated the two as Commissioners in April. Lizárraga served most recently as a senior advisor to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, (D-Calif.). Uyeda is an SEC attorney and is currently on detail as securities counsel to the Senate Banking Committee’s minority staff.
In his role House Speaker’s office, Lizárraga has advised on issues relating to financial markets, housing, international financial institutions, immigration, and small business policy. He also serves as the Speaker’s liaison to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
Throughout his 31-year public service career, Lizárraga advised Congressional leaders and heads of executive agencies on policy and legislative strategy. He previously served on the Democratic staff of the House Financial Services Committee and as a presidential appointee at the Department of the Treasury and the SEC.
Lizárraga will succeed outgoing Democratic Commissioner Allison Herren Lee, who announced in March her plans to leave the Commission at the end of her term in June once her successor was confirmed.
Uyeda has over 25 years of experience in corporate and securities law, including 18 years of public service working in federal and state government. He joined the SEC in 2006 and has worked in various capacities, including as senior advisor to Chairman Jay Clayton and Acting Chairman Michael Piwowar, and as counsel to Commissioner Paul Atkins. He has also served as assistant director and senior special counsel in the SEC’s Division of Investment Management.
From 2004 to 2006, Uyeda served as chief advisor to the California Corporations Commissioner, the state’s securities regulator. Before entering public service, Uyeda was an attorney in private practice with O’Melveny & Myers, and Kirkpatrick & Lockhart.
Uyeda will fill a Republican seat left vacant by Elad Roisman, who resigned in January. Roisman has since joined law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore.
With the appointments of Lizárraga and Uyeda, the SEC now has a full staff of five Commissioners, joining SEC Chair Gary Gensler and current Commissioners Caroline Crenshaw and Hester Peirce.
“We congratulate Jaime Lizárraga and Mark Uyeda on their successful Senate confirmations to serve as Commissioners,” SEC Chair Gensler and Commissioners Lee, Peirce, and Crenshaw said in a joint statement. “On behalf of the entire agency, we would like to welcome them both back to the Securities and Exchange Commission. We look forward to their many contributions to the agency and our work on behalf of the American public.”
An Ambitious Agenda
The SEC has a lot on its plate, including controversial plans to require far more detail by companies on climate change-related disclosures. It is also working on proposals and new rules on Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs), cryptocurrency regulation, and market transparency. Commentators generally said the new appointments are unlikely to change the direction the SEC is headed in with its ambitious agenda.
The SEC is led by five presidentially appointed Commissioners, each of whom serves five-year staggered terms. By design, no more than three Commissioners may belong to the same political party. Although Uyeda will join Hester Peirce as a Republican on the Commission, the agency will still be a 3-2 Democrat-led majority with the addition of Lizárraga. “For this reason, we do not expect to see significant changes in the priorities or pace of work observed under SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s leadership to date or after the midterm elections,” said Jessica Magee, a partner at law firm Holland & Night in a statement.
A blog post from law firm Goodwin relayed a similar sentiment: “It is unlikely that the addition of the two new Commissioners will have a significant effect on the overall direction and agenda of a Gensler-led SEC, with votes likely continuing along party lines,” its author stated.
The two new SEC commissioners are expected to be sworn in during the coming days. 
Jaclyn Jaeger is a contributing editor at Internal Audit 360° and a freelance business writer based in Manchester, New Hampshire.