(Reuters) – Newly sworn-in President Donald Trump has tapped Mark Uyeda, a Republican member of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, to be acting chair of the agency, the White House said Monday.
Uyeda takes over from Gary Gensler, former President Joe Biden’s hard-charging SEC chair whose ambitious agenda led him to clash with Wall Street and the crypto industry.
Trump has said he will nominate former SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins to the run the SEC on a permanent basis. Atkins, for whom both Uyeda and fellow current SEC member Hester Peirce both previously worked at the agency, is expected to make a sharp turn away from how the Biden administration oversaw capital markets.
Gensler, who stepped down Monday, inked dozens of rules aimed at boosting transparency, reducing risks, and stamping out conflicts of interest on Wall Street. He also sued multiple crypto firms he alleged were flouting SEC rules.
Sources said this month that Peirce and Uyeda are expected to kickstart a cryptocurrency policy overhaul as early as this week, Reuters reported.
Uyeda could not immediately be reached for comment.
A Republican SEC commissioner since June 2022, Uyeda has criticized Gensler’s aggressive approach to rulemaking and enforcement.
“The pending administration change will give the SEC a chance to reset its regulatory agenda to focus on capital formation and innovation, while protecting investors, like seniors, from scam artists defrauding them,” Uyeda told Reuters in an interview in November.
