Senate Confirms Paul Atkins as New SEC Chair
Commentary by Steven Lofchie
In a 52–44 vote, the United States Senate confirmed Paul Atkins as the next Chair of the SEC.
He will complete a term expiring June 5, 2026.
Leaders across the financial regulatory community reacted:
- Tim Scott, Senate Banking Committee Chairman, praised Chair Atkins' experience and calling his appointment "a pivotal moment to roll back harmful Biden-era policies" and boost opportunities for retail investors. He said Chair Atkins will bring "regulatory clarity for digital assets," and "reignite our capital markets."
- Joint SEC Statement. SEC Acting Chair Mark T. Uyeda, along with Commissioners Hester M. Peirce and Caroline A. Crenshaw, welcomed Chair Atkins and emphasized that they look forward to working with him to fulfill the SEC's "mission on behalf of the investing public."
- Elizabeth Warren, Senate Banking Committee Ranking Member, questioned Chair Atkins' ability to serve as SEC Chair and criticized his prior tenure as an SEC Commissioner from 2002 to 2008. (See also previous coverage.)
- Leslie Van Buskirk, President of the NASAA, said that state financial regulators "look forward to working collaboratively with Chair Atkins" to support their shared goal of protecting everyday investors and ensuring market integrity.
Commentary
Among the many benefits of the transition from former SEC Chair Gensler to new SEC Chair Atkins is Mr. Atkins' extensive experience with respect to compliance and operational issues. Even if one believes that a particular rule change might be good in theory, the rule change must be workable in practice. A number of the rule changes that were proposed or adopted under the Chair Gensler regime were, whatever one thinks about their theoretical merits, completely unworkable, his proposed best execution regime being an obvious example. Even in the case of a rule change that is controversial but largely workable, such as the clearing mandate for US Government Securities, the SEC simply failed to get into the weeds and consider the operational details. Having a leader at the SEC who understands that rule changes are not merely issues of policy, that they require implementation in the physical world, is a great change for the better.
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In a letter to SEC Chair-Designate Paul Atkins, Ranking Member of the Banking Committee Elizabeth Warren questioned his "judgement and [] ability to serve as an effective SEC Chair if [] confirmed."