The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday edition that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's enforcement director has resigned just over six months after she started on the job, a sudden departure for an agency that has changed dramatically under Republican leaders. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe says former military judge Margaret Ryan has led the SEC's enforcement unit since joining the agency in early September. She resigned from the agency effective immediately, the SEC said in a statement Ms. Ryan, a former Marine who had clerked for well-known conservative judges, had been seen as an unusual pick to lead the 1,400-person enforcement division given she had little experience specific to securities law. She was tapped by Republican Paul Atkins, who became SEC chairman last April and took several months to get top leaders into their roles. "We have achieved things over the past six months and I know that this critical work will continue," Ms. Ryan said in an e-mail to staff. The SEC said in its statement that Ms. Ryan oversaw a "critical course correction within the division." The agency's Republican leadership has sought to focus on cases involving outright fraud and market manipulation.