The rulemaking process during former SEC Chair Gensler's tenure reflected indifference to the law, both as to the extent of the SEC's authority and, as to matters within that authority, and indifference as to the process by which rules are to be made. That indifference resulted in sloppy rulemaking—rule proposals and rules that were ambiguous in their meaning or flat out impossible to execute (with the rules on best execution and, on custody by investment advisers serving as examples of…

Under the last administration, the SEC used its rulemaking authority to push political ends that were unrelated to the financial prospects of issuers. Perhaps the most blatant example of this was the climate disclosure requirements. The proxy rules adopted by the SEC assumed that politically favored interest groups would be able to pressure issuers to adopt politically favored positions, even where those positions were largely irrelevant to the business of the issuer, and in some cases where…

The SEC ought not even to need legislation to reach this end. Physical delivery of documents is, with very limited exceptions, not required by the relevant statutes.  

While it is no surprise that Commissioner Crenshaw bemoans the death of the climate disclosure requirements, given that she voted for their imposition, there is likewise no surprise that these requirements were not going to survive the change in Administration. There is no reason that the SEC should waste its resources seeking to defend the challenged rules.  

Under the prior administration, the SEC had a very bad record in defending its rulemakings in court against claims that…