Bush Nominating Rep. Cox to Head SEC


WASHINGTON - Acting quickly to fill a high-profile regulatory vacancy, President Bush on Thursday moved to nominate Rep. Christopher Cox (news, bio, voting record), R-Calif., a conservative veteran of 16 years in Congress with wide-ranging policy interests, to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission.



Cox would succeed William Donaldson, who announced Wednesday he was stepping down.

The White House announced a 10:15 a.m. ceremony for Bush to name his choice and aides confirmed that it would be Cox.

Asked why Bush had selected Cox, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the president's choice "brings a lot of experience and expertise to the position."

McClellan said he would let Bush himself make the announcement. He said the president would also say "how much he appreciates the exceptional job" done by Donaldson during his 28-month tenure. White House officials speaking on the condition of anonymity said Cox was Bush's choice.

Cox, 52, is chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, and a veteran of the Financial Services Committee. The holder of a business and a law degree, he has voted for legislation to make it easier for companies to defend against securities fraud lawsuits.

Cox supported the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, Congress' response to financial scandals at Enron Corp., WorldCom Inc. and other large companies. The law ordered the most far-reaching changes in corporate accountability since the Depression, imposing stiff new rules on companies and their top executives.

He also is a longtime advocate of repealing taxes on capital gains as well as on dividends.

The SEC position is subject to Senate confirmation, a process that left Cox bruised once before. He was in line for an appointment to the U.S. Court of Appeals in 2001 when Democrats suddenly gained control of the Senate.

Facing opposition from at least one of his home state's two Democratic senators, Cox realized he faced a difficult fight to win confirmation to the bench without a guarantee of success. He withdrew his name.

In his announcement, Donaldson cited family reasons and denied he was stepping down because of disagreements with Republicans over commission decisions. He had sided with the two Democrats on the five-member panel on rules in such areas as stock market trading, hedge funds and mutual funds.

Donaldson, just shy of his 74th birthday, said he hoped "there will be no legalistic rollback of any of these key items." He predicted the next chairman "will leave politics at the door."

In a letter to Bush, Donaldson cited the tireless work of SEC employees and said the past 2 1/2 years "may well be remembered as the most consequential and productive period in the commission's history."

In turn, Bush wished him well. "Bill Donaldson took on a tough job at a tough time and he delivered for the American people," the president said in a statement. "He vigorously and fairly enforced our nation's securities laws and helped rebuild the public trust in corporate America that has been important to our economic recovery."

Bush turned to Donaldson, a Republican and family friend, in 2003 to replace the embattled H***** Pitt, whom administration officials forced out after a series of political missteps.

Donaldson helped implement the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. He also won approval at the SEC for a number of rules designed to clean up the $7 trillion mutual fund industry.

Donaldson last month won SEC approval for a plan to overhaul stock trading. He joined with the Democrats on the commission as the two Republican commissioners objected to the new rules.

Under the proposal, known as the "trade-through" rule, stock brokers will be required to accept the best quoted price for any transaction, no matter which market it came from.

The rule is not due to take effect until 2006, leaving the agency free to review it under a new chairman.

In addition to Donaldson, the White House likely will have two additional vacancies to fill on the commission.

The term of one Democratic commissioner, Roel A. Campos, expires this year. Democrat H***** Goldschmid has made it known that he intends to return to teaching at Columbia University this fall.

By law, no party may control more than three seats on the five-member panel.

Senate Democrats have suggested that the president nominate the SEC's market director, Annette Nazareth, to fill Goldschmid's slot.