Congress
SEC Chair Gary Gensler to step down Jan. 20
Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler, who pursued a sweeping and controversial agenda as Wall Street’s chief overseer over the last three-plus years, plans to step down on Jan. 20, the agency said Thursday.
His departure will clear the way for President-elect Donald Trump to install his yet-to-be-named pick to lead the top U.S. financial markets regulator.
Gensler’s exit will cap one of the most memorable periods in the SEC’s history, as the 67-year-old veteran regulator sought to enact a slate of ambitious rules and pursue lawsuits that led to high-profile clashes with both the traditional financial world and the cryptocurrency industry.
Among the rules enacted under Gensler were measures seeking to shore up the U.S. Treasury market and to force corporate America to tell investors about climate-related risks. His agenda also included rules aimed at shedding light on the more opaque corners of finance, such as the massive private funds market, as well as a contentious push to bring crypto squarely under the SEC’s authority.
“The Securities and Exchange Commission is a remarkable agency,” Gensler said in a statement. “The staff and the Commission are deeply mission-driven, focused on protecting investors, facilitating capital formation, and ensuring that the markets work for investors and issuers alike. The staff comprises true public servants. It has been an honor of a lifetime to serve with them on behalf of everyday Americans and ensure that our capital markets remain the best in the world.”
Gensler plans to step down at noon on Jan. 20, according to the SEC.
A meeting is now underway seeking potential paths for ending the shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security.
Tom Homan, President Donald Trump’s border czar, is meeting with top Senate appropriators and other key senators. It’s the second meeting of the same group in as many days.
Speaker Mike Johnson is planning to put a stalled Homeland Security funding bill on the House floor a third time next week, according to three people granted anonymity to discuss private plans, as the GOP moves to further pressure Democrats to end the five-week closure.
Two versions of the bill have already passed the House, each time with just a few House Democrats breaking from party lines to back it. But the bill is still held up in the Senate, where Democrats have refused to approve DHS funding without adding new restrictions on immigration enforcement.
The House will also vote on a resolution next week in support of DHS workers, including TSA officers who have gone without pay as the spring break travel crush stresses U.S. airports.
House GOP leaders are punting a reauthorization vote for the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that they had hoped to hold next week until mid-April, with a GOP hard-liner revolt over warrantless surveillance threatening to tank the legislation, according to three people with direct knowledge of the matter granted anonymity to discuss the conference dynamics.
GOP leaders are still dealing with a dozen or so Republican members who want reforms to the spy powers extension, as Speaker Mike Johnson is trying to pass a clean, 18-month extension without any changes. President Donald Trump has also asked for the clean extension.
Johnson and GOP leaders will instead work through the remaining issues over the upcoming two-week recess and try to put the extension on the floor the week of April 14, the people said.
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) and a group of ultraconservatives have warned GOP leaders that the reauthorization would fail if Johnson tried to push it through next week.
Another House Republican told Blue Light News there was “no way” a rule to advance a clean FISA extension would pass next week.
Johnson can lose only two votes on a rule to advance the measure, and already a handful of GOP hard-liners have told Blue Light News they would oppose it.
The FISA reauthorization deadline is April 20, and the delay leaves barely any time for the Senate to act.
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