Congress
‘Weaponized’ agency: Ramaswamy, Musk attack SEC after diversity ruling setback
Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk are joining other Trump allies in slamming the Securities and Exchange Commission after a federal appeals court threw out the regulator’s approval of board diversity rules from the Nasdaq exchange.
Less than 24 hours after the New Orleans-based Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decided in favor of conservative groups that had challenged the rules, Ramaswamy, Musk and Sen. Mike Lee of Utah said the decision underscored what they see as underlying issues with Wall Street’s top regulator.
“When an agency like the SEC is so repeatedly & thoroughly embarrassed in federal court for flouting the law, it loses its legitimacy as a law enforcement body,” said Ramaswamy, who is heading up the so-called Department of Government Efficiency alongside Musk, in a post on X.
Musk called the SEC “just another weaponized institution doing political dirty work” in a post of his own, while Lee said the SEC “cannot be trusted.”
The attacks could offer a preview of the potential scrutiny that awaits the SEC in the incoming administration, as President-elect Donald Trump and his team look to overhaul the federal government and slash spending. Leading that charge from the outside will be Ramaswamy and Musk’s DOGE, an advisory panel that is expected to look at everything from cutting regulations to forcing the federal workforce back to the office.
The SEC has long been a popular target for conservative groups, lawmakers and business titans, including Musk. The billionaire owner of X, Tesla chief executive and Trump’s highest-profile backer has repeatedly clashed with the agency in recent years, including during the first Trump administration. Most recently, the SEC has been investigating Musk’s $44 billion purchase of X, which was then called Twitter.
An SEC spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the posts by Ramaswamy, Musk or Lee.
The Nasdaq rules were designed to require companies listed on the exchange to publicly disclose data about their board members and to have at least two members who identify as having diverse backgrounds — or for the company to explain why they don’t have those individuals in place.
But the Fifth Circuit found that the proposals “cannot be squared” with federal securities laws and that the SEC had “intruded into territory outside its ordinary domain” by approving them.
The decision, handed down more than three years after the SEC’s approval order, was the latest in a string of legal defeats for the Gary Gensler-led SEC.
Financial industry and conservative groups have launched a wide-ranging effort in recent years to knock down critical SEC rules in the courts — and particularly in the conservative-majority Fifth Circuit. An SEC spokesperson said late Wednesday that the agency is reviewing the Nasdaq ruling.
How the SEC handles the legal challenges going forward could fall on the shoulders of Trump’s pick to lead the agency, Paul Atkins. Earlier this month, the president-elect tapped the former SEC commissioner and Wall Street adviser to replace Gensler next year. If confirmed, Atkins is widely expected to pursue a business-friendly agenda that could entail walking back certain rules and lawsuits pursued by Gensler’s SEC.
Dennis Kelleher, who leads the financial reform advocacy group Better Markets, told Blue Light News that the federal court ruling had little to do with the SEC or the merits of Nasdaq’s rules. Instead, he said, “it is about a biased kangaroo court weaponized with Trump-appointed judges who reflexively side with the industry against government rules regardless of facts, law or policy.”
“The goal of the industry is to turn the SEC from an effective cop on the Wall Street beat to a toothless tiger that does not do its job and cannot do its job,” Kelleher said. But, he warned, “undermining and crippling the SEC is undermining the United States capital markets, which is the jet fuel for our economy.”
Congress
Mace sued for defamation by man she accused of abuse in floor speech
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) is facing a defamation lawsuit filed by one of the four men she has publicly accused of sexual abuse in a floor speech, in a case that could test the legal protections members of Congress have for their official conduct.
The South Carolinian took to the House floor last month to accuse her ex-fiance, Charleston businessman Patrick Bryant, and three other men of rape, sex trafficking and nonconsensually filming sex acts with her and others.
Now Brian Musgrave, one of the other men Mace named on the House floor, is suing the member of Congress for defamation.
In the lawsuit, filed in federal court in South Carolina, he categorically denied the allegations leveled against him by Mace — saying he was not present during any alleged events Mace described and did not “film” or “incapacitate” anyone — adding she “and her team destroyed the lives” of Musgrave and his family.
The suit seeks an unspecified award for compensatory and punitive damages to be determined by a jury “sufficient to impress upon the Defendant the seriousness of her conduct and to deter such similar conduct in the future.”
Mace’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The legal action also seeks to carve out an exception from the speech or debate clause of the Constitution, which provides a legal shield for members of Congress for acts taken as part of their roles as lawmakers, including “any Speech or Debate in either House.”
The clause “does not transform the floor of Congress into a sanctuary for defamation, nor does it protect Congresswoman Mace’s extra-Congressional defamatory statements surrounding her speech,” Musgrave’s suit asserts.
His lawsuit also points to some of Mace’s actions outside the House floor, including a draft of the speech circulating and posts on social media.
In her February speech, Mace claimed she was speaking out because South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson had declined to act upon evidence of abuse that she said she provided. But the top state prosecutor said Mace’s accusations of improper conduct by his office were “categorically false,” claiming the office had “no knowledge” of Mace’s alleged assault until her speech on the House floor.
Wilson and Mace are both considering bids for South Carolina governor in the state’s 2026 election.
Shortly after Mace’s public speech, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division confirmed that it is investigating Bryant. Bryant has categorically denied Mace’s allegations.
Congress
Jeffries stays silent on Schumer’s future as Senate leader
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries sidestepped a question about the leadership of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer — a stunning demonstration of the breach that has emerged between the two New York Democrats over a looming government shutdown.
“Next question,” Jeffries told reporters when asked if there should be new leadership in the Senate. He also declined to answer a question on whether he had confidence in Schumer and said that while he’d been in touch with his fellow leader, their conversations would “remain private.”
Schumer said Thursday he planned to vote to advance a GOP-written funding patch to avert a shutdown, which is said was the better of two bad options.
“It is a false choice that Donald Trump, Elon Musk and House Republicans have been presenting, between their reckless and partisan spending bill and a government shutdown,” Jeffries responded Friday. “We do not support a bill that is designed to hurt the American people.”
When asked whether Schumer had acquiesced to Trump, Jeffries said there was still time — the vote had not taken place yet, and some senators were still undeclared, he added.
Congress
Mark Kelly ditches his Tesla
Amid the Friday chaos on Capitol Hill, Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) took to X to announce … he’s getting rid of his Tesla.
“This is going to be my last trip in this car,” Kelly said in a video posted to his social media.
The Arizona Democrat wrote the car felt like “a rolling billboard” advertising Elon Musk. The chainsaw-wielding special adviser to the president has spearheaded the Department of Government Efficiency’s shuttering of agencies and mass firings across the government. He’s also Tesla’s CEO.
Kelly said he couldn’t drive the car without thinking about the damage DOGE has brought on the government, including the firing of veterans.
“Elon Musk kind of turned out to be an asshole, and I don’t want to drive a car built and designed by an asshole,” Kelly said.
Earlier this week, President Donald Trump decided to buy his own Tesla, setting up a collection of the electric cars for his selection at the White House after protests broke out across the country at Tesla dealerships.
Following the car show, Senate Democrats sent a letter to the U.S. Office of Government Ethics asking the office to open an investigation, saying Musk and Trump used their roles to promote Musk’s company with their “temporary Tesla showroom.”
-
The Josh Fourrier Show4 months ago
DOOMSDAY: Trump won, now what?
-
Uncategorized4 months ago
Bob Good to step down as Freedom Caucus chair this week
-
Economy4 months ago
Fed moves to protect weakening job market with bold rate cut
-
Uncategorized4 months ago
Johnson plans to bring House GOP short-term spending measure to House floor Wednesday
-
Economy4 months ago
It’s still the economy: What TV ads tell us about each campaign’s closing message
-
Politics4 months ago
RFK Jr.’s bid to take himself off swing state ballots may scramble mail-in voting
-
Politics4 months ago
How Republicans could foil Harris’ Supreme Court plans if she’s elected
-
Politics4 months ago
What 7 political experts will be watching at Tuesday’s debate