Trump Picks SEC Alum to Chair Regulator

President-elect Donald Trump has selected a former commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission to lead the financial regulator as its next chair, Trump announced on Wednesday on his social media network, Truth Social.

Paul Atkins, founder and chief executive of Washington, D.C.-based consultancy Patomak Global Partners, is Trump’s choice to replace outgoing SEC Chair Gary Gensler.

“Paul is a proven leader for common sense regulations,” Trump’s post stated. “He believes in the promise of robust, innovative capital markets that are responsive to the needs of investors [and] that provide capital to make our economy the best in the world.”

Atkins served as an SEC commissioner under President George W. Bush from 2002 through 2008, focusing on the financial services industry and securities regulation. The SEC is led by five president-appointed commissioners, and no more than three at any time may come from a single political party. His appointment requires Senate approval.

After leaving the SEC, Atkins founded Patomak Global Partners, which provides consulting services to financial services firms on regulatory issues, new products, business strategy and corporate governance. One of Atkins’ focus areas has been supporting and developing best practices for the use of digital assets and trading platforms to expand the market for cryptocurrency, which Trump has supported on the campaign trail.

“[Paul] also recognizes that digital assets [and] other innovations are crucial to making America greater than ever before,” Trump’s post stated.

“I think his more recent involvement in the crypto space was certainly a positive in his being selected—that was certainly sending a message with the choice,” says Jay Dubow, a partner in Troutman Pepper and a former SEC branch chief of its division of enforcement.

Dubow says other regulatory bodies, such as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, may weigh in on how digital assets are regulated, and it could be an area eventually taken up by Congress. Whatever the approach, Atkins’ nomination signals a move toward further market incorporation of cryptocurrency, says Dubow, noting that “there does need to be new regulations, but you will likely see ones that will be more attuned to the industry.”

He also notes that Trump and his forthcoming administration have changed their stance on the issue since Trump’s first term in office. In December 2020, near the end of Trump’s first term, the SEC under then Chair Jay Clayton brought charges against Ripple Labs Inc., alleging it violated securities laws by raising more than $1.3 billion through an unregistered digital asset offering.

Gensler, the current SEC chair, has been critical of digital assets and publicly skeptical of incorporating them more fully into markets. Appointed by President Joe Biden in April 2021, Gensler is known for both rigorous rulemaking and enforcement. He announced two weeks ago that he will leave the post on January 20, 2025, the day of Trump’s second inauguration.

Financial industry trade groups the American Securities Association and the Investment Company Institute, which had both sparred with Gensler’s SEC over proposed or implemented rulemaking, were quick to champion the nomination. In November, the ICI called on the SEC to suspend its work in light of Trump’s election; the SEC responded that it would do no such thing.

“ICI congratulates Paul Atkins on being nominated as the new Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission,” ICI President and CEO Eric J. Pan said in a statement. “His distinguished record, years of experience in the industry, and history of service at the SEC make him a supremely well-qualified nominee. Atkins understands that registered fund companies play a major role in the U.S. economy. His leadership will be vital to ensuring the strength, fairness, and integrity of our financial markets.”

Troutman Pepper’s Dubow says the Atkins pick was not a surprise among SEC watchers, as his name had been floated as a conservative who worked on the commission under a Republican administration. When looking back at the Clayton SEC, Dubow notes the focus was more on protecting retail investors from fraud cases, a contrast, he says, to Gensler’s SEC.

“This SEC brought a number of enforcement cases where there wasn’t necessarily direct harm to investors, but, rather, the SEC was alleging control violations,” he says. “There was a lot of focus on internal controls and enforcement in those areas.”

Last week, Trump announced his anticipated nominees for secretary of labor and secretary of the treasury. Both require Senate confirmation.