(Bloomberg) -- Political friction and vacancies in top posts atthe U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission haveincreased the likelihood that Chair Mary Jo White could remain in the jobbeyond the end of President Barack Obama’s term.

White has privately told agency officials thatpeople with ties to both the Hillary Clinton and Donald Trumpcampaigns have asked if she would consider staying on to give thenext president time to pick a successor, said people familiar withthe matter.

White said she expects any holdover to be brief, according toone of the people who spoke to the SEC chief and asked not to benamed because the conversation was private.

Should White depart when a new president is sworn in, WallStreet’s main regulator could slip into paralysis because it wouldbe down to just two commissioners who vote on policy andenforcement actions. Democrat Kara Stein and Republican MichaelPiwowar often disagree on market regulation and legal settlementswith financial firms. There are two vacancies on thecommission.

Still, keeping White around even temporarily could carry risks,especially for Clinton, because key members of the Democraticparty’s liberal base consider the SEC chief to be too soft on thefinance industry.

In one sign of the opposition’s vigor, progressive standardbearer Senator Elizabeth Warren demanded earlier thismonth that Obama replace White even though he’s set to leave officeat the end of January.

No outreach

“No one working for, or volunteering for, our transition efforthas been in touch with the chair of the SEC,” said Brian Fallon,Clinton’s campaign spokesman.

A spokeswoman for White declined to comment. Trump’s campaigndidn’t respond to requests for comment.

Both sides have opened transition offices in downtownWashington. Clinton and Trump are expected to move forward quicklyon nominees to head the SEC.

Should Clinton win, the appointment of regulatory posts isexpected to expose fissures within the Democratic party betweenliberals and more moderate, pro-business camps. The financialindustry, which has contributed heavily to Clinton, is concernedabout who gets picked to lead the Treasury Department, the NationalEconomic Council and the SEC.

Aggressive regulators

Meanwhile, Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, and herallies want Clinton to nominate strong and independent overseerswho won’t shy away from taking on banks and other corporations,especially in the wake of the financial crisis.

The SEC has also been in the sights of progressives because theywant it to pass rules that would require companies to reveal theirpolitical spending -- a controversial plan opposed by manyRepublicans and businesses.

Though it is still early, those aligned with Warren are pushingSEC chairman candidates like Commissioner Stein and Gary Gensler, aformer head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Neitherhas said if they’d want the post. By staying on following a Clintonvictory, White would likely be denying Stein a chance to run thecommission as acting chairwoman.

‘Right leader’

White, a political independent, has led the SEC since 2013.White House spokesman Eric Schultz, responding to Warren’srequest that Obama replace White, told reporters earlier this monththat “the president continues to believe Chair White is the rightleader.”

Any fight over the SEC chairmanship could be complicated bySenate politics. There are already two Obama administrationnominees to fill open slots on the five-member commission who havelanguished for months. If those candidates aren’t confirmed whensenators return to Washington for a short session following theelection, the new president will either have to re-nominate them orchoose two alternatives.

Traditionally, confirming an SEC chairman has not been a toppriority for an incoming president or the Senate.

That changed after the 2008 election when the financial crisiswas in full swing and Obama’s first pick Mary Schapiro wasconfirmed days after he took office. Previous agency heads,however, had to wait a lot longer. President Bill Clinton’s SECchairman Arthur Levitt didn’t start work until the end of July1993, and Harvey Pitt, chosen by President George W. Bush, beganhis term on Aug. 3, 2001.

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