(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump is preparing to name Allison Lee in the coming weeks to fill the open Democratic seat on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, according to people familiar with the matter.

The selection of Lee to replace Kara Stein, who left the SEC in January after her term ended, would bring the five-member commission back to full strength if she is confirmed by the Senate. She is a former aide to Stein who also worked as a enforcement division lawyer during her time at the agency.

Lee’s nomination has been pending at the White House for months, according to people familiar with the matter. Delays in nominating her and others for Democratic seats on bipartisan commissions have angered some lawmakers and liberal activists.

The White House communications staff declined to comment. The SEC and Lee didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

If she wins confirmation, Lee would be expected to bring a more liberal perspective to the SEC, restoring a balance that has made Chairman Jay Clayton a swing vote on key issues. She could have an immediate impact on commissioners’ decisions over fining companies in enforcement cases, a matter that has been the subject of intense debate at the agency.

The SEC’s current lineup includes two Republicans, Hester Peirce and Elad Roisman; Clayton, a political independent picked by Trump’s GOP administration; and Robert Jackson Jr., an independent picked to fill a Democratic seat.

Lee is married to J. Robert Brown Jr., who has served as a board member on the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board since February 2018.

To contact the reporters on this story: Ben Bain in Washington at bbain2@bloomberg.net;Robert Schmidt in Washington at rschmidt5@bloomberg.net;Jennifer Jacobs in Washington at jjacobs68@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jesse Westbrook at jwestbrook1@bloomberg.net, Gregory Mott

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