The Trump administration is considering appointing Robinhood’s general counsel Dan Gallagher as the new SEC chairman, which could bring major changes to U.S. securities regulation.
The Trump administration's transformation team is considering a group of corporate lawyers and Republican regulators for leadership roles at financial institutions and will provide a final, shortened list in the coming days, Reuters reported.
On this list, Gallagher and former SEC committee member Paul Atkins are among the candidates for SEC chairman. Gallagher, Robinhood's legal secretary, is a former SEC committee member who voted for easy stock redemption rules while in office.
This consideration is clearly favored by cryptocurrency supporters, a group that contributed significantly to Trump’s campaign. These committee members hope that when Gallagher serves as SEC chairman, he will push for a more friendly cryptocurrency regulatory direction than the policies adopted by current SEC Chairman Gary Gensler.
Additionally, Robert Stebbins, a partner at law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher who served as SEC general counsel in the previous Trump administration, is also a potential candidate for a leadership position at the SEC. Although Gensler's term will last until 2026, he has signaled that he will leave when the next administration takes office.
It is worth noting that despite being well-known in the cryptocurrency industry, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce has no intention of running for the position of SEC Chairman.
Trump has made it clear that he will eliminate "onerous" regulatory measures, and the focus of reforms is expected to be on the recently enacted Basel rules, which increased capital requirements for large banks, as well as other regulations implemented by the Biden administration. measure. While Trump could immediately replace acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu on his first day in office, changes to the Fed's regulatory arm and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) may take longer to implement.
Potential candidates for the bank's top job include Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman, who has advocated for loosening bank regulations, and Travis Hill, vice chair of the FDIC's board of directors. Jonathan Gould, the former senior deputy commissioner of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, is also under consideration.
Trump, whose campaign received strong support from the cryptocurrency industry, has promised to promote Bitcoin and overhaul the SEC's regulatory model. Trump's national press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said the president-elect will announce appointments soon.
