Securities and Exchange Commission chair Gary Gensler testifies before a Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee oversight hearing on September 14, 2021. He said he will leave office when President-elect Donald Trump becomes president. File Photo by Evelyn Hockstein/UPI |
License PhotoNov. 22 (UPI) — The chairs of the Security and Exchange Commission and Federal Communication Commission said they will step down from their positions on Jan. 20 to make room for President-elect Donald Trump‘s appointees when he is inaugurated.
SEC chair Gary Gensler announced on Thursday and FCC chair Jessica Rosenworcel on Wednesday that they will leave their posts as Trump continues to announce nominees ahead of taking office. He had already said he would appoint Brendan Carr for the FCC spot.
The SEC chair serves five-year terms, and Gensler could have stayed on until 2026, but he said he will leave the agency completely. It is believed that Trump will select an SEC chair who will be friendlier to digital currencies and banks, both of which Gensler had tried to rein in since taking office in 2021.
“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,” Gensler said in a statement.
“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.”
What will be closely watched in his how the commission under new leadership will handle Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk, an ardent Trump supporter who has been fined and investigated over his social media messages and other issues.
The SEC is seeking sanctions against Musk for missing a court-ordered meeting connected with its investigation into Musky’s $44 billion purchase of X, formerly Twitter.
In a statement released by the Benton Institute for Broadband and Society, Rosenworcel said she was proud of the FCC’s work of expanding the Internet to underserved populations and protections of communications.
She cited “seemingly impossible feats” like setting up the largest broadband affordability program in history, Rosenworcel said.
She also touted the creation of the first-ever Space Bureau that is focused on the FCC’s new space policy.
