Senate confirms Atkins as next SEC chair

The Senate has voted, 52–44, along partisan lines, to confirm Paul Atkins as head of the SEC.

Atkins was an SEC commissioner from 2002 to 2008 under President George W. Bush, and is CEO of consulting firm Patomak Global Partners. He is widely expected to take a more deregulatory approach than his predecessor, Gary Gensler. In speeches, he has criticized Dodd-Frank and expressed the viewpoint that regulators, not Wall Street, were to blame for the Great Depression. Atkins, whose firm has advised digital asset companies, including FTX, is also likely to take a crypto-friendly stance.

Under Atkins, “there probably will be a foot taken off the pedal” in terms of regulation, former SEC Branch Chief Lisa Bragança told CFO Brew earlier this year. Acting SEC head Mark Uyeda has already moved the agency in a more deregulatory direction, stopping its legal defense of its climate rule and canceling 10 high-profile lawsuits against crypto companies.

Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott, R-SC, said Atkins will “roll back harmful Biden-era policies, promote capital formation, and enhance opportunities for retail investors,” The Hill reported.

Senator Elizabeth Warren, D-MA, ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, voted against Atkins’ confirmation, noting in a letter at the time of his nomination that he has “significant potential conflicts of interest” due to his “work on behalf of corporate interests” and that he supported “several deregulatory measures that contributed to the near collapse of the banking and financial system in 2007 and 2008.”

Atkins enters the SEC at a tumultuous time. More than 600 employees, or around 12% of its 4,900-person workforce, have left in recent weeks, accepting deferred resignation and buyout offers. The agency is undergoing restructuring and DOGE staff have begun working there, according to Reuters.