United States President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team is reportedly considering Robinhood Markets’ legal boss for a shortlist of candidates to take charge of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Dan Gallagher, Robinhood’s chief legal, compliance, and corporate affairs officer, who was a Republican SEC commissioner from 2011 to 2015 under the Obama administration, is currently the Trump team’s frontrunner to replace SEC Chair Gary Gensler, Reuters reported on Nov. 7, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
Conversations are still ongoing. Also on the list is Paul Atkins, another former GOP SEC commissioner who was on Trump’s 2016 transition team, and law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher partner Robert Stebbins, who was the agency’s general counsel during Trump’s first term as president.
Trump promised to fire Gensler “on day one” of his presidency in his pitch to the crypto industry, with many blaming the SEC boss for a heavy crypto clampdown in the last few years.
It’s typical for SEC chairs — who are appointed by the president — to step down after a new administration takes power. President Joe Biden appointed Gensler in 2021, and the SEC chair had earlier signaled he would resign if Trump won, even though his term ends in 2026.
Gallagher, Atkins, Stebbins and Trump’s campaign had not responded to requests for comment by the time of writing.
The Robinhood legal boss has been mentioned before as a potential pick to head the agency, with Politico reporting last month that a former SEC official said Gallagher would be “a natural choice” for Trump.
Still, the process of selecting the next chair will reportedly take a few weeks, and one person told Reuters it was too early to say who will get the call.
Gallagher could be a popular choice for the crypto industry, which spent millions of dollars on influencing the election.
In May, Robinhood said the SEC sent it a Wells notice — a warning that the regulator may bring an enforcement action — concerning its crypto business, a legal fight that Gallagher would lead.
Trump will be inaugurated as president on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025.
