Trump’s Team Expands List of Candidates for SEC Chair

According to numerous news reports, a list of candidates has emerged for the position of chairman of the SEC under Donald Trump’s future administration.

As reported by CoinDesk, another candidate is Teresa Goody Guillen, a partner at the law firm BakerHostetler. 

Other candidates under consideration include: 

• Robert Stebbins, partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP;
• Dan Gallagher, chief legal officer at Robinhood;
• Brian Brooks, former acting head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency;
• former SEC commissioners Brad Bondi and Paul Atkins.

According to users of the prediction platform Kalshi, Goody Guillen leads the race with a 32% chance of being appointed.

“She is the best candidate of all those currently being discussed. She has a clear understanding of the laws and how the SEC operates,” commented Masa co-founder Brendan Playford.

From 2009 to 2011, Goody Guillen worked as a lawyer at the agency.

Sources from CoinDesk indicate that Trump’s team intends to reform the SEC and roll back the “regulation by enforcement” policy established under current chairman Gary Gensler. The president-elect promised to fire him on his first day in office.

Regarding cryptocurrencies, Trump’s circle is seeking a Commission head who understands the industry and is willing to exercise restraint in applying securities laws to digital assets in the absence of clear regulation. Experts believe Goody Guillen embodies these principles.

“Teresa is a true pioneer in the crypto industry, possessing the experience and vision necessary to lead the SEC and stimulate the growth of capital and digital asset markets in the U.S. She embodies everything President Trump envisions for the sector,” stated Nicole Trudeau from Wave Digital Assets, who has worked with the candidate.

Community Debates Candidates

The industry expresses various preferences. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse believes that the next regulator chairman should be former CFTC head Chris Giancarlo, Brooks, or Gallagher. The entrepreneur wrote this shortly after Trump’s election.

However, he criticized Stebbins’ candidacy due to his involvement in the controversy surrounding former SEC employee William Hinman’s statement. In 2018, Hinman declared that for various reasons, the regulator does not consider Bitcoin and Ethereum to be securities.

In a group of strong candidates for SEC Chair, it’s unconscionable to consider someone directly involved in Bill Hinman’s unethical (likely illegal) push to pick winners and losers in crypto.

Choosing Stebbins would be akin to bringing us back to the start of the regulation by…

— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) November 19, 2024

“Choosing Stebbins would be akin to bringing us back to the start of the regulation by enforcement era,” Garlinghouse emphasized.

His opinion is supported by Ripple’s chief legal officer Stuart Alderoty.

John Reed Stark, president of John Reed Stark Consulting, doubted that the crypto community would allow Stebbins to lead the SEC. The candidate served as the agency’s legal counsel under chairman Jay Clayton from 2017 to 2021, when the regulator’s war on digital assets began.

Possible SEC Chair nominations of Atkins, Bondi, Gallagher and Stebbins — Who Are These Guys?

Kudos @EleanorTerrett, nice job on reporting the SEC Chair short list to us all — you are killing it as always. Atkins, Gallagher, Bondi and Stebbins are all highly impressive choices… https://t.co/RbPXtqtTzX pic.twitter.com/9TlE02Z5S3

— John Reed Stark (@JohnReedStark) November 16, 2024

Stark believes that leading industry players have gained enough influence after successfully participating in Trump’s campaign, making Stebbins’ candidacy unacceptable to them.

As a former head of SEC compliance, Stark noted that working with Atkins and Gallagher was “pleasant” and that they can be expected to take an “equally cautious and thoughtful approach to cryptocurrencies.” He speculated that Bondi is also favorable towards digital assets. 

Stark described all three as among the most qualified commissioners in the agency’s history and a good choice for the top position.

“Brad [Bondi] is obviously the most likely of this group of candidates to truly shake up the SEC. For example, I would expect him to order an immediate halt to all cryptocurrency-related investigations on his first day at headquarters,” stated the founder of John Reed Stark Consulting.

According to Blockchain Association CEO Kristin Smith, the next SEC chair is the most crucial appointment for the industry by the future administration.

The next SEC chair is the most critical position for crypto @realdonaldtrump will appoint.

The chair must be a known quantity committed to undoing the damage of the last 4 years, have expertise on crypto–and share Trump’s vision of making the US the crypto capital of the world.

— Kristin Smith (@KMSmithDC) November 19, 2024

“The chair must be a known quantity committed to undoing the damage of the last four years, have expertise in digital assets, and share Trump’s vision of making the U.S. the crypto capital of the world,” she emphasized.

Trump Forms Industry-Friendly Administration

Meanwhile, the team of the 47th President of the United States is likely to continue nominating cryptocurrency supporters to government positions. 

It is expected that Robert Francis Kennedy Jr. will head the Department of Health. The former independent campaign participant recently admitted to investing most of his wealth in Bitcoin.

Pete Hegseth, nominated for Secretary of Defense, also supports the crypto industry. 

Trump announced the appointment of Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick as Secretary of Commerce.

Thank you, President Trump for your trust in me to help Make America Great Again. As the next Secretary of Commerce, I will join the best administration the US has ever seen and unleash our full economic potential. pic.twitter.com/CTr0sdH6nt

— Howard Lutnick (@howardlutnick) November 19, 2024

The company he leads is closely linked with Tether and has been the primary custodian of USDT reserves for many years.

Lutnick owns Bitcoin, as does Cantor Fitzgerald. In July, the firm announced the launch of a Bitcoin-backed lending service.

It should be noted that billionaire Elon Musk and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy will head the new Department of Government Efficiency — DOGE — in Trump’s government.