The Senate yesterday confirmed Mary Jo White to head the Securities and Exchange Commission, and she could be behind her desk at the agency as early today, the Washington Post reported today. The Senate approved White by unanimous consent, signaling that because she had strong bipartisan support, an official vote count was not necessary. White must now sign presidential appointment papers and get officially sworn in before she can take the reins from the current SEC chief, Elisse B. Walter. White, a former federal prosecutor who has spent the past decade as a white-collar attorney in New York, dazzled lawmakers from both parties with her credentials. For about 14 years, White focused on white-collar defense work at Debevoise & Plimpton in New York. She then spent 12 years as a federal prosecutor in New York — where she made a name for herself putting terrorists behind bars — before returning to Debevoise in 2002.
