This article has been updated. See below.
The next SEC chair may be a barrier-breaker as well as a rule-maker.
Bloomberg reports that Debra Wong Yang, who became the first Asian-American woman to be named a U.S. Attorney when she was appointed during the Bush administration in 2002, is a top contender for the post of Securities and Exchange Commission chairman.
If appointed, Yang would be the fourth female SEC chairman in U.S. History, following in the footsteps of Mary Schapiro, Elisse Walter and Mary Jo White, who were appointed as chairs by President Barack Obama in 2009, 2012 and 2013, respectively. White, who currently holds the office, announced last month that she plans to step down at the end of the Obama administration
Yang also has the potential to become the first non-white woman to fill the role, continuing 2016’s streak of milestones for minority women in politics.
Last month, Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) was elected the first Thai American in the chamber. She will be joined by Kamala Harris (D-CA), who will become the first black woman to serve in the upper chamber in nearly two decades, and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), who is poised to become the country’s first Latina senator. Along with Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI), who became the first Asian-American woman to gain a seat in the chamber in 2012, the newly-elected senators will bring the total number of minority women in the Senate to four.
While this year’s election signified major progress, minority women remain underrepresented in politics. Women of color currently make up 7% of Congress (or a record 38 seats), and hold just two of 50 gubernatorial offices.
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As a partner at law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher—which she joined in 2006 and where she remains the leader of the firm’s crisis management team today—Yang was part of the legal team that issued a report stating that Christie was not at fault for the 2014 George Washington Bridge lane-closing scandal.
Bloomberg speculates that, should Trump choose the former prosecutor, he would be sending a message that he wants the commission to focus on investigating corporate wrongdoing rather than on its policymaking role.
A spokesperson from Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher declined to comment, while Donald Trump’s representative did not respond to Coins2Day‘s request.
Note: This story originally misstated that Yang would be the third female SEC chair if appointed. She would be the fourth.
