Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) announced legislation to remove Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler in a tweet about April 16th.
Davidson Announces Anti-Gensler Legislation
On Twitter, Davidson wrote:
“To correct a long series of abuses, I present a law that removes the President of the [SEC] and replaces the role with an Executive Director who reports to the Board (where authority resides).”
Davidson also said that former SEC chairmen are “ineligible” for the demoted position. If the legislation were to succeed, Gensler would no longer be able to serve in a leadership capacity on the Commission, but could presumably fill another role.
Davidson announced the legislation in response to Coinbase CLO Paul Grewal, whose original tweet was in reference to the SEC. search for an extended definition of “exchange”. That expanded definition could affect DeFi platforms and other services not normally considered exchanges, a possibility that the SEC itself has noted.
Davidson appears to be acting in response to a Twitter campaign urging Gensler’s removal. In late March, she wrote: “let’s make the #FireGary bipartisan movement!”
Gensler and the SEC face longstanding criticism
Davidson has criticized Gensler and the SEC in the past. In November 2022, he accused Gensler and the SEC for selective enforcement after the collapse of FTX.
In October 2022, critical the SEC’s decision to ok kim kardashian about their cryptocurrency promotions. At the time, Davidson wrote that the SEC “inconsistent application” and “inconsistent” the policies would force crypto-innovation abroad.
In February 2023, he accused the SEC to regulate by execution when Sued Kraken about their staking services. The SEC also forced Kraken to stop gambling in the US.
The SEC’s board of commissioners currently has five members. Two commissioners, Hester Peirce and Mark Uyeda, have regularly dissented from the regulator’s tough decisions on crypto policy, including some of the above issues.
The charge Congressman Advances Legislation to Fire Gary Gensler, Downgrade His Position first appeared in CryptoSlate.
