He has done a terrible job. I am glad he is gone.

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Jan. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Christopher Cox stepped down as U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission chairman, leaving behind a demoralized agency that failed to spot Bernard Madoff’s alleged fraud and had its role diminished by the collapse of Bear Stearns Cos. and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.

His resignation took effect at noon today in Washington, agency spokesman John Nester said. During Cox’s 3 1/2-year tenure, the SEC has been criticized by lawmakers, investors and its own inspector general as lacking aggressiveness and being deferential to Wall Street banks. President Barack Obama, a Democrat, picked Mary Schapiro, the head of the U.S. brokerage industry’s self-regulator, to succeed the Republican Cox.

Under Cox, who was offered the SEC job by Vice President Dick Cheney, public fights among Democratic and Republican commissioners stopped and enforcement penalties declined.