Warren accuses SEC chair Atkins of misleading Congress

Sen. Elizabeth Warren sent a letter Wednesday accusing Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins of potentially misleading Congress about a drop in enforcement actions. Warren pointed to SEC data for 2025 showing the agency opened 456 new enforcement cases last year, 256 filed under the Trump-led SEC and 200 carried over from the prior administration.

Warren referenced a Feb. 12 Senate Banking Committee hearing where Atkins challenged the premise of her question and said he was unsure which data she was citing. The newly released 2025 figures prompted Warren to raise the issue in her letter.

The SEC’s 2025 total of 456 new actions compares with an average of about 765 enforcement filings per year over the past decade, according to the figures Warren cited. The decline in filings has appeared across multiple sectors, including traditional securities markets.

Warren’s letter also noted recent changes in the enforcement division, including the resignation of the SEC’s head of enforcement and what she described as a significant staff reduction. She wrote that the lower enforcement totals, staffing changes and sudden leadership shifts “raise serious questions about the Commission’s willingness and capacity to protect investors and the markets” and asked for an explanation of the data and the decisions behind the decline.

A person who makes a materially false statement to Congress can face a fine and up to five years in prison, and any criminal charge would need to be brought by the Department of Justice. Warren did not request criminal proceedings in the letter but indicated possible congressional oversight.

Atkins and other SEC officials have defended the lower number of enforcement actions, attributing part of the decline to a reduced emphasis on crypto-related cases and saying some prior approaches were overly aggressive. The agency also issued a staff statement that allows certain decentralized finance user interfaces to avoid broker-dealer registration if they meet specified conditions.

The SEC declined to comment on Warren’s letter.