By Ireland Owens
President-elect Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he is nominating Paul Atkins to be the next chair of the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC).
Trump praised Atkins as a “proven leader,” according to a Wednesday post to Truth Social. Atkins is the CEO and founder of Patomak Global Partners, a risk management consultancy.
“I am delighted to announce the nomination of Paul Atkins to be the next Chairman of the Securities & Exchange Commission,” Trump wrote. “Paul is a proven leader for common sense regulations. He believes in the promise of robust, innovative capital markets that are responsive to the needs of Investors, & that provide capital to make our Economy the best in the World.
“He also recognizes that digital assets & other innovations are crucial to Making America Greater than Ever Before,” Trump added.
Before founding Patomak, Atkins served as an SEC commissioner from 2002 to 2008. Atkins has been a vocal supporter of the crypto industry and has co-chaired the Chamber of Digital Commerce’s Token Alliance, which represents the interests of the crypto sector, since 2017, according to Unchained. He also favors lighter regulation in the banking industry, according to Politico. (RELATED: Trump Cabinet Picks Face Threats Of Violence, Spokeswoman Says)
Current SEC Chair Gary Gensler announced in November that he will step down when Trump assumes office in January. Gensler assumed the role of SEC Chair on April 17, 2021, and previously said he thought artificial intelligence could lead to financial crises in the future.
Under Biden, the SEC proposed rules in March 2022 that would require companies to publicly disclose a range of climate-related information, a move which some Republican lawmakers criticized. The disclosure rules could require companies to speculate about future events, such as future climate-related litigation that could affect companies’ bottom lines. The SEC adopted rules in March aimed at enhancing and standardizing “climate-related disclosures by public companies and in public offerings,” according to a press release.
