Lawmakers Grill Trump’s SEC Pick over Alts, DOGE
President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission, Paul Atkins, faced heat from Democratic lawmakers Thursday over deregulation, expanding investor access to alternative investments, and potential conflicts of interest if he leads the agency.
Appearing before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, Atkins said it was time to “reset” the agency’s priorities and “return common sense to the SEC.”
Atkins, a former Republican SEC commissioner who served from 2002 to 2008, pledged to protect investors from fraud, provide a “firm regulatory foundation for digital assets” such as crypto, keep politics out of securities laws and regulations, and push “clear rules” that encourage investment.
Atkins stressed the need for a “robust cost-benefit analysis when considering new regulations.” That statement indicates that Atkins will push fewer regulations and will likely “take a hard look” at the rules proposed under Gensler that have not yet been adopted, Lori Weston, head of compliance at STP Investment Services, said in an email.
Read what Lori and others had to say in FundFire’s article here.
