The Biden Administration has moved quickly to nominate
new leadership at the Securities and Exchange Commission
("SEC" or "Commission"). As with any new
administration, this changing of the guard presages a new set of
priorities for the SEC. President Biden, in a move that provides
some insight into his priorities and the approach his
administration will pursue with regard to securities regulation,
has nominated former Commodity Futures Trading Commission
("CFTC") Chairman Gary Gensler for SEC Chairman. It is
expected that Mr. Gensler will be confirmed and that, under his
leadership, the SEC will enact rules reflecting the preferred
policies of a Democratic-majority Commission. President Biden has
yet to announce a nominee for Chairman of the CFTC, so discussion
of that agency's rulemaking priorities under the new
administration necessarily is more speculative.
