CHICAGO — President-elect Barack Obama has chosen three top financial regulators to see the country through unprecedented market turmoil.

Democratic officials say Obama wants Gary Gensler to head the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Daniel Tarullo for a Federal Reserve seat.

Obama plans to announce the picks at news conference Thursday, along with Mary Schapiro to chair the Securities and Exchange Commission. The agency faces growing criticism for its failure to protect investors and detect trouble as it was brewing on Wall Street. Schapiro has experience serving as an SEC commissioner.

Gensler is a former Treasury official in the Clinton administration. Tarullo is a Georgetown Law professor who also worked for President Clinton.