US Senator Elizabeth Warren has accused Paul Atkins, head of the Securities and Exchange Commission, of possibly misleading Congress about the agency’s enforcement activity.
In a letter to Atkins dated April 15, Warren said the SEC’s fiscal 2025 enforcement data, released on April 7, raised “significant concerns” about his testimony at a Feb. 12 congressional hearing. At the hearing, Warren said she had asked Atkins to comment on publicly available data showing a decline in SEC enforcement; she says Atkins responded that he was “not sure what data” she was referring to.
Warren wrote that the newly released data show the number of enforcement actions initiated by the SEC was lower than at any point in the last decade and that enforcement activity had dropped to the lowest level in more than 20 years. She called the figures “deeply disturbing” and said they indicate the Commission has “largely abdicated its enforcement responsibilities.”
Because the hearing took place more than four months after the end of the 2025 fiscal year, Warren said Atkins’ claim of uncertainty about the data “now appear deeply misleading, potentially designed to cast doubt on the now obvious fact that enforcement activity has declined significantly at the Commission under your watch.” She asked whether Atkins was aware of the SEC’s enforcement efforts at the time of his testimony and requested an explanation for the decline in enforcement.
Warren requested that Atkins respond to her questions by April 28.
The SEC has faced criticism for scaling back enforcement against crypto companies, with some cases settled or dismissed that were initiated under the prior administration, a pattern that has drawn scrutiny from lawmakers. The SEC did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Warren’s letter.