Gary Gensler plans to step down as chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission when Donald Trump takes office as president on January 20, bringing to an end a bold rulemaking term that encountered resistance from the industry and courts.
Officially, Gensler’s five-year term on the commission will not run out until 2026, but it has become customary for SEC chairs to move on when the White House changes hands.
Under Gensler, the SEC pushed through rules seeking to bring more transparency to the markets and improve corporate disclosures but also suffered bruising legal defeats. Hours before his announcement, a federal court in Texas tossed out the SEC’s new rules for the $27tn Treasury market, finding that the watchdog had exceeded its authority.