Dan Gallagher, Robinhood’s chief legal officer and a former SEC commissioner, is reportedly the leading candidate to replace SEC Chair Gary Gensler in the incoming Trump administration.
Dan Gallagher, the chief legal officer of Robinhood, is reportedly the top choice to replace SEC Chair Gary Gensler in the Donald Trump administration, said sources familiar with the matter. During his election campaign, Trump had announced that he would be firing Gensler on “day one”. As a result, the crypto community has turned curious as to who would be leading the chair position next.
Sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that Dan Gallagher, Robinhood’s chief legal, would be one of the shortlisted candidates for the top job at the SEC. Previously, Gallagher served as a Republican SEC commissioner from 2011 to 2015 under the Obama administration. Thus, he might see a return to office under the Trump administration.
President Joe Biden appointed Gensler as SEC chair in 2021, and Gensler had previously indicated he would step down if Trump won, despite his term officially ending in 2026. On the other hand, Gallagher is a well-known figure in the crypto community and is favored by crypto executives for his support of financial innovation and market liberalization.
Gallagher’s pro-innovation stance, which includes advocating for a lighter regulatory approach to cryptocurrencies, has made him a popular choice in the industry. In the past, he also advocated treating digital assets as a distinct asset class instead of classifying them as securities. Thus, Gallagher can set the tone for crypto-friendly regulations in the US thereby allowing more regulated crypto investment products to exist in the market.
Other Considerations for US SEC Chair
Discussions for the SEC Chair are still underway, with other candidates also in consideration. Among them are Paul Atkins, a former Republican SEC commissioner who served on Trump’s 2016 transition team, and Robert Stebbins, a partner at law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher who previously held the role of SEC general counsel during Trump’s first term. Speaking on this, Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s national press secretary, said:
“President-Elect Trump will begin making decisions on who will serve in his second Administration soon. Those decisions will be announced when they are made.”
Gallagher is well-versed in the SEC’s way of dealing with regulations. Furthermore, working at Robinhood might have given him the experience to navigate through the nuances of the crypto market.
There’s been a huge demand to bring crypto mom Hester Peirce as the US SEC Chair. However, some reports suggest that she isn’t willing to take the job but instead, work on a crypto task force.
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