Bush Announces Donaldson as Pick for SEC Post

WASHINGTON-President George W. Bush announced his choice of Bill Donaldson as the new Securities and Exchange Commission chairman last week. Donaldson has founded a leading investment banking firm, chaired the New York Stock Exchange, and was the founding dean of the Yale School of Management. He is also a Marine Corps veteran. “Bill Donaldson will be a strong leader with a clear mission, to vigorously enforce our nation’s laws against corporate corruption and to uphold the highest standards of integrity in the securities markets.” Bush said during the announcement. “He’s an experienced and dedicated public servant. He’s a good man.” Harvey Pitt resigned as SEC chairman around the beginning of November. The president explained that the SEC filed a record number of actions for financial reporting and disclosure violations and the agency is “moving forward on many fronts.” The agency has taken a beating this year with several corporate scandals bubbling to the surface, including Enron and WorldCom’s accounting troubles.