WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Senate, with backing from Wyoming’s members, confirmed Paul Atkins on Wednesday to chair the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Democrats linked Atkins to the 2008 housing market crash and the Sam Bankman-Fried cryptocurrency fraud case, but with the majority, Republicans pushed Atkins through on a strictly party-line vote 52-44.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, blasted Republicans for “doing nothing” on President Donald Trump’s on-again, off-again tariffs while moving ahead with the Atkins vote. Democrats are attacking Trump's tariffs with multiple bills.
“Instead of passing a bill to save our economy … the Senate is about to vote to put a career Wall Street suit in charge of the SEC,” she said ahead of the vote. “This is the priority for Republicans right now: put another fox in charge of the henhouse while the whole farm could burn to the ground.”
Lummis and Barrasso were unimpressed by Warren and other Democrats who opposed Atkins.
“After President Trump nominated him in December, I sat down with Mr. Atkins to discuss important issues, including digital asset legislation, empowering Wyoming’s blockchain future and implementing much-needed reforms to the regulatory rulemaking process.” Lummis told Cowboy State Daily. “I’m confident that his leadership at the SEC will bring positive changes in these areas.”
Rolling Back ‘Burdensome Regulations’
Lummis and Warren serve on the Senate Banking Committee, which approved the nomination April 3 on a 13-11 party-line vote.
Lummis has taken a leading role on cryptocurrency issues, earning the nickname “Crypto Queen.”
Barrasso told Cowboy State Daily that Atkins “is the right choice to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission.”
“It’s time we roll back burdensome regulations from the Biden administration that stifled Americans’ financial freedom,” Barrasso said. “Congress is ready to work with Paul and the SEC to advance President Trump’s deregulation agenda and get America’s economy back on track.”
‘Impeccable’ Record
Warren blamed Atkins in part for the 2008 meltdown of the subprime housing market, fueled by mortgage-backed securities, and the subsequent Wall Street bailout and recession. Atkins was on the SEC from 2002-2008.
“His track record in the run-up to the crash was impeccable,” Warren said. “Mr. Atkins sat on his hands. No acknowledgment that the crash was coming. No steps to avoid the crash.”
Later, his Wall Street work included advising Sam Bankman-Fried, who was convicted of fraud, money laundering and other charges in a cryptocurrency scheme.
Atkins helped “billionaire scammers, like Sam Bankman-Fried, get even richer,” Warren charged.
