Paul Atkins, former SEC commissioner and now ex-CEO of Patomak Global Partners, has officially been confirmed by the U.S. Senate to take over as chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under President Donald Trump, following a heated confirmation hearing held Thursday before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs.
Trump nominated Atkins back in December, replacing former chairman Gary Gensler, whose crackdown-heavy term left a trail of lawsuits and regulatory hostility toward crypto firms. Until now, Mark Uyeda had been serving as acting chair.
During his opening remarks, Atkins made it clear he plans to roll back the SEC’s existing approach. He told the Senate panel that “the current regulatory environment for our financial system inhibits investment and too often punishes success.”
He called the rules “unclear, overly politicized, complicated, and burdensome,” and said they’re killing capital formation. Atkins said investors today are “flooded with disclosures that do the opposite of helping them understand the true risks of an investment,” and called for a full reset of the SEC’s priorities.
Warren accuses Atkins of hiding $25 million Patomak deal
Elizabeth Warren, top Democrat on the Banking Committee and long-time crypto critic, targeted Atkins over what she called “breathtaking” conflicts of interest stemming from his ownership stake in Patomak, his consulting firm that’s worked with major banks, trade groups, and investment giants.
Warren asked Atkins directly: “Will you disclose who the buyers are and how much they pay, so that we can make certain that these are not people who are just buying access to the future chair of the SEC?” Atkins replied, “Senator Warren, I have abided by the Office of Government Ethics’ process.” Warren interrupted him, saying, “So that is a ‘no’ — you’re not going to tell us who you sell it to and how much money you get. Some people might call that a pre-bribe.”
Her concern centered on Atkins’ plan to offload his ownership in Patomak, which is valued at over $25 million, while possibly landing in a position to make regulatory calls that could benefit his former clients. She said that Atkins would be “in a prime spot to deliver for all those clients” once he assumes the chairmanship.
Earlier in the week, Warren sent Atkins a 34-page letter pressing for answers about his plans for separating from Patomak and navigating his potential conflicts. She said that his team only replied 10 minutes before the hearing, claiming, “no, you think you’ve done enough.” She told the room, “That is deeply concerning to me.”
Despite the backlash, Atkins promised in his ethics paperwork to recuse himself for one year from any matters involving Patomak or its clients. That didn’t slow Warren or other Democrats on the panel, who openly doubted how much distance Atkins could realistically keep from firms he spent over a decade advising.
Atkins pledges SEC overhaul, softer stance on crypto
Atkins laid out plans to erase Gensler’s enforcement-heavy playbook. Instead of cracking down first and asking questions later, he said the agency should aim to support functioning markets and only use enforcement to “cure and rectify wayward actions.” He wants the SEC to help the system work better, not punish it into compliance.
Atkins addressed the crypto industry directly by saying that one of his top goals will be to create “a firm regulatory foundation” for crypto by working with Congress and his fellow commissioners on what he called “a rational, coherent and principled approach.”
Senator Tim Scott, the committee’s chairman, took a shot at Gensler’s tenure, telling Atkins, “One thing I can say about the SEC is that under your predecessor, there was no golden age.” Scott listed a handful of examples of what he called regulatory chaos and said the agency had lost its way.
Atkins responded by saying the issues were “disturbing,” and added that he plans to “cure dysfunction and demoralization” inside the SEC and rebuild morale. “We need to get back to the mission,” he said. He wants to shift the SEC away from politics and toward clarity.
Chris Van Hollen questioned Atkins about the future of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). Atkins raised the possibility that the board might be folded back into the SEC but said he wasn’t in favor of scrapping it. “Its function is vital,” he told the panel.
When Jim Banks brought up ESG investing and its rise under Gensler, Atkins responded that he plans to “get politics out of the financial markets and out of how the SEC interacts with the financial markets.” He added, “That will end and we will have protections in place so money managers are focused on investment strategy and not politics.”
Kennedy, Hagerty, and Moreno go full unfiltered on Gensler and SBF
The hearing wasn’t all policy. John Kennedy, never one to miss a shot at humor, asked Atkins, “Is it true that Senator Hagerty has a tattoo of the Backstreet Boys on his lower back?” before switching gears to demand answers about how Atkins will deal with Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of the now-defunct FTX. Kennedy warned Atkins that every time he returns to testify, “I will pounce on him like a ninja” to check in on the SEC’s progress.
Bill Hagerty, a Republican from Tennessee and longtime friend of Atkins, vouched for his experience. “Paul has developed an unmatched understanding of financial markets and their regulatory challenges,” said Hagerty, who added that he’s used Atkins and his team at Patomak to help guide companies he’s invested in.
Bernie Moreno torched Gensler’s reputation while praising Atkins by comparison. “You just have to be able to breathe and not be a complete raging lunatic and you’ll be the greatest SEC commissioner compared to the last guy,” he said, adding that Gensler was “objectively one of the stupidest people in government.”
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