Congressman Warren Davidson, Ohio’s 8th District in Congress, says he is introducing legislation to fire SEC Chairman Gary Gensler. An Executive Director role will replace the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman, and former chairs of the SEC will be ineligible, the Congressman said.
SEC Chairman Gary Gensler has been under fire by retail investors ever since he joined the commission in 2021.
For example, dark pool trading has risen under Gensler’s watch, leaving the average investor vulnerable in today’s market.
In 2022, retail investors petitioned to fire the SEC Chairman due to the SEC’s failure to enforce regulations that would level the playing field between retail and institutional investors.
The retail community has argued that hedge funds and market makers have too much power and take advantage of investors through Payment for Order Flow (PFOF), dark pool trading, and suppressing the market through illegal naked short selling.
As of 2023, FTDs and dark pool volume continue to increase with no sight of relief for the average investor.
“To correct a long series of abuses, I am introducing legislation that removes the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission and replaces the role with an Executive Director that reports to the Board (where authority resides). Former Chairs of the SEC are ineligible,” said Congressman Warren Davidson on Twitter.
Congressman Warren Davidson’s introduction to legislation that would replace Gary Gensler was sparked from a comment SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce made – opposing views with the SEC Chairman on crypto.
However, many retail investors say Hester Peirce has to go too.
Hester Peirce is known for having ties with a lobbyist group of anti-regulators and for voting against the Short Sale Transparency Act in 2021.
And the SEC aren’t the only regulator under fire either – retail investors created a petition earlier this month calling out for the resignation of FINRA CEO Robert Cook.