Christopher Cox, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission and former congressman from Orange County, issued a statement responding to Republican nominee John McCain's attacks from Thursday afternoon, when the Arizona senator called for Cox to be fired.

"While I have great respect for Senator McCain, we have sometimes disagreed, and this is one such occasion," said Cox.

Cox attributed McCain's blindside to the rocky politics of presidential campaigns."What America and the world needs now is steadiness and the reduction of uncertainty," Cox said. "Now is not the time for those of us in the trenches to be distracted by the ebb and flow of the current election campaign."

Cox reasserted his intention to leave the SEC after the end of the current administration, and said he will ignore McCain's attacks and continue his work.

"The best response to political jabs like this is simply to put your head down and not lose a step doing the best job you can possibly do on behalf of those you serve," Cox said. "For my part, I plan to do just that. I leave the political campaigns to pursue their own course."