Elizabeth Warren Accuses SEC Chair Paul Atkins of Potentially Lying to Congress

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), the highest-ranking Democrat connected the almighty Senate Banking Committee, formally accused the caput of the SEC this week of perchance lying to Congress—an amerciable enactment punishable with imprisonment.

In a letter sent Wednesday, Warren told SEC Chair Paul Atkins she believes the regulator whitethorn person intentionally misled the Banking Committee during a February 12 hearing, erstwhile Atkins was pressed astir the SEC’s plummeting fig of caller enforcement actions nether the 2nd Trump administration.

Atkins responded to Warren’s question astatine the clip by saying helium disagreed “with the premise” of her inquiry. When Warren followed up connected the substance astatine a aboriginal constituent successful the hearing, Atkins said helium wasn’t definite what information the legislator was referencing.

Last week, however, the SEC released its enforcement information for 2025, which showed the regulator lone brought 456 caller enforcement actions past year—200 of which were filed by the outgoing Biden administration. The 256 cases brought by the Trump SEC airy successful examination to the 765 enforcement actions brought connected mean by the SEC each twelvemonth implicit the past decade. 

“The information showing a crisp diminution successful enforcement actions nether your watch, important simplification successful unit and the abrupt enactment changes each rise superior questions astir the Commission’s willingness and capableness to support investors and the markets,” Warren said.

The SEC declined remark erstwhile reached by Decrypt.

The transgression of making a materially mendacious connection to a legislature committee is punishable by a good and up to 5 years successful prison. Such a complaint would request to beryllium brought by the Department of Justice, however, and it is precise improbable the Trump DOJ would prosecute specified a lawsuit against a subordinate of the Trump administration.

Should Democrats retake Congress successful November’s midterms, however, Warren could extremity up well-positioned to marque Atkins’ beingness overmuch much hard successful the medium-term. The crypto-skeptical lawmaker is apt to go the adjacent seat of the Banking Committee should Democrats triumph backmost the Senate, an result presently lasting astatine 55% likelihood connected Polymarket.

The SEC’s enforcement statistic are presently a hot-button contented for Democrats, fixed however they play into a larger communicative astir the Trump administration’s appetite to prosecute imaginable atrocious actors successful fiscal markets—even those who whitethorn person ties to the president’s household and interior circle.

The SEC nether Trump has proudly touted its alteration successful enforcement actions, tying the inclination to a de-emphasis connected crypto cases. Atkins has repeatedly argued the Biden-era SEC overzealously pursued cases against companies successful the caller sector, a inclination helium has aggressively reversed.

But the SEC’s enforcement rates person besides dwindled crossed different sectors, including the accepted securities market. Further, the regulator has travel nether scrutiny for its attraction of entrepreneurs successful the Trump family’s orbit. In Wednesday's letter, Warren referenced a Reuters study detailing however the SEC’s caput of enforcement resigned past period successful portion owed to frustrations implicit the agency’s handling of fraud cases touching connected President Trump’s interior circle.

Atkins personally resisted pushes to prosecute specified cases, according to the report.