Trump has selected Uyeda, a Republican, to act as SEC chairman, the White House tells Reuters
(Reuters) – President-elect Donald Trump has selected Mark Uyeda, a Republican member of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, to serve as acting chairman of the agency, the White House said on Monday.
Uyeda takes over from Gary Gensler, former President Joe Biden’s tough SEC head whose ambitious agenda brought him into conflict with Wall Street and the crypto industry.
Trump said he would nominate former SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins to lead the SEC permanently. Atkins, for whom both Uyeda and fellow current SEC member Hester Peirce previously worked at the agency, is expected to make a sharp departure from the way the Biden administration has overseen capital markets.
Gensler, who resigned Monday, signed dozens of rules aimed at increasing transparency, reducing risk and eliminating conflicts of interest on Wall Street. He also sued multiple crypto companies that he claimed were violating SEC rules.
Sources said this month that Peirce and Uyeda are expected to launch a review of cryptocurrency policy as early as this week, Reuters reported.
Uyeda was not immediately available for comment.
A Republican commissioner of the SEC since June 2022, Uyeda has criticized Gensler’s aggressive approach to rulemaking and enforcement.
“The pending administration change will give the SEC an opportunity to reposition its regulatory agenda to focus on capital formation and innovation while protecting investors, such as the elderly, from fraudsters who are defrauding them,” Uyeda said in an interview with Reuters in in November.
