Atkins Testifies Before Senate Banking Committee, Awaits Confirmation as SEC Chair

Trump Pick for SEC Faces Sharp Conflict-of-Interest Scrutiny

At his nomination hearing Thursday, the former Republican SEC commissioner and founder of consulting firm Patomak Global Partners met with stiff opposition from Democratic lawmakers over his potential conflicts of interest and support of deregulation.

Senator Elizabeth Warren, speaking just before his Banking Committee hearing, said she’s concerned that Atkins is “thinking about his past and future clients” rather than American families. That criticism is unlikely to get in the way of his approval by the GOP-controlled Senate.

Supporters of Atkins see him as an ideal choice to roll back Biden-era policies, bolster capital formation and provide clarity to the crypto industry.

In a letter sent Thursday to Warren, Atkins said he had “met or exceeded” the same ethics standard applied to prior SEC nominees, and was divesting from more than 150 financial holdings.

Trump Targets WilmerHale, Citing Law Firm’s Connection to Robert Mueller

President Trump moved on Thursday to punish the law firm WilmerHale, where Robert S. Mueller III worked before and after he served as special counsel in the Trump-Russia investigation, expanding his widespread campaign of retribution.

In an executive order, Mr. Trump hit the elite firm with many of the same penalties that he had applied to its competitors who had taken on cases or causes he did not like.

He directed the cancellation of all government contracts with WilmerHale, and the suspension of any security clearances of its employees. The order also barred WilmerHale employees from federal buildings, banned them from communicating with government employees and prevented them from being hired at government agencies.

SEC Votes to End Defense of Climate Disclosure Rules

The Securities and Exchange Commission today voted to end its defense of the rules requiring disclosure of climate-related risks and greenhouse gas emissions. […]

States and private parties have challenged the rules. The litigation was consolidated in the Eighth Circuit (Iowa v. SEC, No. 24-1522 (8th Cir.)), and the Commission previously stayed effectiveness of the rules pending completion of that litigation. Briefing in the cases was completed before the change in Administrations.

Following today’s Commission vote, SEC staff sent a letter to the court stating that the Commission withdraws its defense of the rules and that Commission counsel are no longer authorized to advance the arguments in the brief the Commission had filed. The letter states that the Commission yields any oral argument time back to the court.

Commodity traders complain about cost of Trump ‘tweet-driven’ uncertainty

US President Donald Trump’s “tweet-driven” uncertainty is imposing extra costs on commodity traders, slowing their investment plans and even prompting some European houses to consider changing their working hours to align with Trump’s social media output.

Trump’s frequent messages on X and his own Truth Social platform — often sent at odd hours — have sparked volatility in commodities markets over recent weeks and left traders scrambling to react.

Richard Holtum, Trafigura’s newly appointed chief executive, said he was “semi-seriously” considering changing traders’ working hours in Geneva to 2pm to midnight.

“The European hours are pretty quiet in the morning these days,” he said, at the FT Commodities Global Summit in Lausanne. “You just wait for President Trump to wake up and decide how your day is going to go.”

Finra, SEC Face New Attack on Enforcement Power Under Jarkesy

The SEC and a private financial industry regulator both lacked the authority to impose sanctions in a case seeking civil penalties, a targeted financial consultant told the Sixth Circuit.

The appeals court should set aside a Securities and Exchange Commission order sustaining the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s decision to impose a securities industry ban and $130,000 in restitution, consulting firm owner Eric Smith said Wednesday. The Constitution requires Smith’s case to be heard in a judicial branch court under the US Supreme Court’s decision in SEC v. Jarkesy, he told the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.