A Robinhood executive has reportedly emerged as a potential candidate to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission if Donald Trump is elected president and ousts SEC Chairman Gary Gensler.
Dan Gallagher, Robinhood's chief legal officer and former SEC commissioner, is seen as the front-runner for the Republican nomination. According to more than a dozen former regulators, lobbyists and securities lawyers interviewed by Politico..
“He was the obvious choice,” a former SEC official told the publication.
Meanwhile, the SEC is considering whether to file a lawsuit against Robinhood and its cryptocurrency business.
Regulators are cracking down on this area, particularly transactions involving crypto tokens, which the SEC considers securities.
The SEC is investigating whether the day-trading platform operates an unregistered broker-dealer and clearing house in the cryptocurrency market.
“This is a bellwether of an incident,” Gallagher told Politico.
Gallagher said Robinhood only offers trading for a small number of crypto tokens compared to other platforms that offer hundreds of tokens. He said the California-based fintech company does not have any cryptocurrency lending or staking products.
“We're giving up the company's revenue by not listing our coins wildly, and I think that puts us in a very, very unique position,” Gallagher told the outlet. Ta. “It's really bad policy to shoot a good person.”
The SEC did not respond to requests for comment.
Whether or not the agency files a lawsuit, it's clear that Republicans and Democrats alike want Mr. Gensler ousted.
Other names that have been floated as potential Trump picks for the post include former Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Chris Giancarlo, also known as “CryptoDad.” Former SEC General Counsel Robert Stebbins, currently a partner at Willkie, Farr & Gallagher. Current SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce holds the Republican seat, according to Politico.
Although Gallagher may be in trouble due to the SEC's attack on Robinhood, he remains the front-runner to replace Gensler.
“Dan would be great,” Michigan Republican Rep. Bill Huizenga told Politico last month. “I've had a great relationship with him, even when we've had disagreements.”
“Ultimately, we need people who are thoughtful and experienced, not just ideologically and politically driven,” Huizenga said. “I think that’s the problem with Gensler.”
President Joe Biden nominated Gensler to chair the agency in 2021.
Since then, Gensler, whose term expires in 2026, has been an outspoken advocate for increased oversight of the cryptocurrency industry.
Bloomberg reported last month that deep-pocketed donors supporting Vice President Kamala Harris are calling for Gensler to be fired if she wins in November.
Former President Donald Trump, who staked his claim as a pro-crypto candidate at the 2024 Bitcoin Conference in July, said he would remove the chair if re-elected.
As a committee member, Mr. Gallagher harshly criticized the bill, which was signed into law in the wake of the Great Recession of 2008.
meanwhile 2015 Fordham Law School SymposiumGallagher said the United States was not only unprepared for a new financial crisis, it also hasn't “understood the causes of the last financial crisis.”
He was quick to criticize the SEC's internal courts, which have since been ruled unconstitutional in several Supreme Court cases.
He also expressed dissatisfaction with the SEC's current response to the crypto industry, arguing that had he been chairman over the past few years, clear industry guidelines would have already been in place.
“I would have done things differently,” Gallagher told Pollitico. “I have known Gary for a long time and have great respect for him, but I disagree with him on this.”
Gallagher told MM that he loves his job at Robinhood and is “honored to have my name included in the discussion of who will be the next SEC Chairman.”
