House Republicans Introduce Bill To Fire US SEC Chair Gary Gensler and Make Other Reforms

House Republicans filed a bill on Monday that would fire US Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler and restructure the agency.

Reps. Tom Emmer and Warren Davidson introduced the SEC Stabilization Act, to “remove Chairman Gensler following his long series of abuses that have been permitted under the current SEC structure,” according to a statement released from House Majority Whip Emmer’s office.

“U.S. capital markets must be protected from a tyrannical Chairman, including the current one,” Davidson said in a statement. “That’s why I’m introducing legislation to fix the ongoing abuse of power and ensure protection that is in the best interest of the market for years to come. 

The bill would add one more commissioner to the five member commission and create an executive director role to oversee day-to-day operations at the agency. 

The new GOP bill would also put in place a condition that no single political party would hold more than three commissioner seats at any given time — there are currently three Democrats and two Republicans. 

The bill would need to get Democratic support. 

Tension with the SEC Chair 

Some lawmakers have criticized the SEC’s approach to regulating crypto. 

Chair Gensler has repeatedly said that most cryptocurrencies are securities and should be regulated by the agency, while calling on crypto firms to register. 

The agency sued both Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, and Coinbase, the largest US-based crypto exchange last week for multiple violations, including not registering their firms.

Republican Sen. Cynthia Lummis criticized the SEC’s lawsuit against Coinbase, calling its “regulation by enforcement” approach harmful to consumers.

“Real consumer protection requires creating a robust legal framework that exchanges can comply with, not pushing the industry offshore or into the shadows,” Lummis tweeted last week. 

My statement on the SEC suing Coinbase, inc. https://t.co/5KNEM0IPSV pic.twitter.com/EgRIxrIcjj

— Senator Cynthia Lummis (@SenLummis) June 6, 2023

The House Financial Services Committee, which Emmer and Davidson are both members of, will meet Tuesday for a hearing focused on digital assets.