WMHW Alert: SEC Enforcement Under Trump 2.0: The First Month

Thursday, February 20, 2025, marked the completion of Donald J. Trump's first month as President for a second term. With a frenzy some have likened to the "Tasmanian Devil" Warner Brothers cartoon, his administration has taken a barrage of steps intended to dramatically alter the federal bureaucracy. What does all this mean for the Securities and Exchange Commission and SEC Enforcement in particular? Although only one month might be a slender foundation upon which to make predictions – especially since SEC Chair nominee, Paul Atkins, has yet to be confirmed and take office – some trends seem to be emerging: (1) fewer enforcement actions and, of those, a focus on fraud and retail investor harm; (2) reinventing the SEC's approach to crypto and a focused approach to cyber-related misconduct; (3) likely more influence from the White House; and (4) continued turmoil with litigating SEC actions as Administrative Proceedings.