🌋 Trump Considering Paul Atkins as the Next SEC Chair

posted  28 Nov 2024
The Trump administration recently interviewed Paul Atkins, an expert in financial regulation and a potential candidate for the SEC chair, according to Bloomberg, citing anonymous government sources.

Paul Atkins, a candidate for SEC chair under Trump. Source: bloomberg.com

Paul Atkins, a candidate for SEC chair under Trump. Source: bloomberg.com

Paul Atkins previously served as an SEC commissioner representing the Republican Party during George W. Bush’s presidency. Afterward, he founded Patomak Global Partners, a consulting firm that serves major clients in the financial sector.

Sources indicate that President-elect Donald Trump is likely to make a decision soon on who will lead the Securities and Exchange Commission. However, no final decision has been reached yet.

Other contenders for the SEC chair position include Mark Uyeda (a current SEC commissioner), Heath Tarbert (a former chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission), and Robert Stebbins (a partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP).

At the Bitcoin 2024 conference, Donald Trump pledged to remove current SEC chair Gary Gensler. On November 22, the SEC confirmed Gensler’s departure would coincide with Trump’s inauguration.  

Gensler’s tenure faced criticism for favoring a "stick over carrot" approach, emphasizing enforcement actions rather than offering clear guidance to market participants. The new administration may take a different approach.

The SEC’s future priorities are expected to include combating fraud, cracking down on insider trading, dismantling Ponzi schemes, and curbing the spread of misleading information.