A top Robinhood executive has emerged as the leading contender to front the Securities and Exchange Commission if Donald Trump wins the presidency and ousts SEC Chair Gary Gensler, according to a report.
Dan Gallagher – Robinhood’s chief legal officer and a former SEC commissioner – is believed to be the Republican nominee’s top pick, according to a dozen former top regulators, lobbyists and securities lawyers interviewed by Politico.
“He’d be a natural choice,” a former SEC official told the publication.
Meanwhile, the SEC is weighing whether to pursue a lawsuit against Robinhood and its cryptocurrency business.
The regulatory agency has been cracking down on the sector – specifically transactions involving crypto tokens, which the SEC considers securities.
The SEC is looking into whether the day-trading platform is operating an unregistered broker-dealer and clearing agency in the crypto markets.
“It’s a dog of a case,” Gallagher told Politico.
Robinhood offers trading in just a fraction of crypto tokens compared to other platforms with hundreds of tokens, Gallagher said. The California-based fintech company doesn’t have any crypto lending or staking products, he said.
“We’ve been forgoing revenue for the company by not going hog wild listing coins, and I think that puts us in a very, very unique position,” Gallagher told the outlet. “Shooting at the good guys is a really bad policy.”
The SEC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Whether the agency decides to pursue the suit or not, it is clear that Republicans and Democrats alike want to oust Gensler.
Other names floating around as potential Trump picks for the position include former Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Chris Giancarlo, also known as “CryptoDad”; former SEC General Counsel Robert Stebbins, now a partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher; and current SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, who occupies a Republican seat on the commission, according to Politico.
Though the SEC’s attack on Robinhood could stick Gallagher in hot water, he remains the front runner for Gensler’s replacement.
“Dan would be great,” Republican Rep. Bill Huizenga of Michigan told Politico last month. “I’ve had a great relationship working with him, even when we disagreed on some stuff.”
“Ultimately, you want someone who’s thoughtful, experienced, and not just ideologically politically driven,” Huizenga said. “That’s been, I think, the problem with Gensler.”
President Joe Biden nominated Gensler to serve as the agency’s chair in 2021.
Since then, Gensler – whose term expires in 2026 – has been outspokenly pushing for increased scrutiny on the cryptocurrency industry.
Deep-pocketed donors backing Vice President Kamala Harris have called for her to ax Gensler if she wins in November, according to a Bloomberg report last month.
Former president Donald Trump – who staked his claim as the pro-crypto candidate during the 2024 Bitcoin Conference in July – then said he would fire the chairman if he was re-elected to the presidency.
As a commissioner, Gallagher slammed the reforms signed into law in the wake of the 2008 Great Recession.
During a symposium at Fordham Law School in 2015, Gallagher said not only was America unprepared for another financial crisis, but it had not “figured out what caused the last one.”
He was quick to criticize the SEC’s in-house courts, which have since been declared unconstitutional in some Supreme Court cases.
And he has expressed disapproval with the SEC’s current handling of the crypto industry, arguing there would already be clear industry guidelines in place if he had been chair the last few years.
“I would have done things differently,” Gallagher told Pollitico. “I’ve known Gary for a long time and have a lot of respect for Gary, but, on this one, I disagree with him.”
Gallagher told MM that he loves his job at Robinhood and that it is “an honor to have my name included in any discussion of who may be the next SEC chairman.”
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