Calls for the ousting of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler have been coming from all quarters these days.
Rep. Wiley Nickel, D-N.C., a strong Democratic voice on the House Financial Services Committee, recently led a letter sent by 27 Democrats to the Democratic National Committee chair calling for a new SEC chairman. On the other side of the aisle, former President Donald Trump’s pledge to fire Gensler on day one, which was the highlight of his speech at a recent crypto conference in Nashville, Tennessee, was met with roaring applause.
It’s telling that even members of Gensler’s own party are calling for new leadership. The letter led by Nickel urged DNC Chairman Jaime Harrison and the prospective presidential candidates to select a new SEC chair “who takes a regulatory approach to digital assets that fosters innovation, secures American global competitiveness, promotes financial inclusion, and protects consumers.”
The bipartisan backlash is unsurprising. Since taking the agency’s helm in April 2021, Gensler has driven the SEC’s credibility into the ground with his relentless campaign to advance an unlawful, radical rulemaking and enforcement agenda. Several targets of Gensler’s progressive crusade have sought remedy in the courts, resulting in a series of embarrassing legal losses for this once proud agency.