Obama sends Wall St a message with nomination for SEC head
Mary Jo White, President Obama's nominee to lead Securities and Exchange Commission, is an ex-prosecutor known for catching wrongdoers
In nominating former federal prosecutor Mary Jo White to head the US Securities and Exchange Commission, President Barack Obama has aimed a strong message at potential Wall Street miscreants: watch out.
His administration has faced criticism for not being more aggressive in holding bankers and other executives accountable for their actions leading up to the financial crisis. In White, Obama has someone with a long track record of successfully going after wrongdoers.
"You don't want to mess with Mary Jo," Obama said as he announced the nomination on Thursday.
Obama amplified his decision by renominating Richard Cordray, a former state attorney general, as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Cordray's controversial recess appointment to the two-year-old agency expires at the end of the year.
Obama said that White and Cordray were key to implement the 2010 overhaul of financial regulations and protect consumers and the financial system from the "kinds of abuse that nearly brought the economy to its knees".
"But it's not enough to change the law," Obama said at the White House, flanked by White and Cordray. "We also need cops on the beat to enforce the law."
If confirmed, White would be the first former prosecutor to lead the SEC. The job normally goes to securities lawyers, regulators or politicians.
