Rob Stebbins, a corporate lawyer at the New York law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, has become a top contender on the increasingly short list for the next SEC Chair. According to one Washington insider, he has been strongly advocated for by his former boss Jay Clayton, who president-elect Donald Trump picked to be the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan Thursday.
Current chair Gary Gensler hinted at the Practising Law Institute Thursday that he would resign soon, leaving Trump the ability to nominate a new chair upon taking office in January. Trump had pledged to “fire” Gensler at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville this summer, even though he legally is not permitted to do so without cause.
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It was a useful statement for Trump to make nonetheless, because Gensler has become a much hated-figure in the crypto industry after leading the charge to sue numerous crypto companies during his tenure, but not creating clear rules for digital assets. Trump’s desires to replace him garnered the industry’s support (and attracted a lot of donations).
Stebbins is generally understood to be supportive of the crypto industry. In a RealClearMarkets op-ed he published in October, he criticized Biden’s financial regulators and especially Gensler for a policy of “regulation by enforcement,” in which Gensler had prosecuted crypto companies rather than “adopting reasonable, tailored rules that will allow digital asset innovation and consumer choice to flourish right here in America.” He also praised Trump for his embrace of the industry.
“Relief cannot come soon enough,” he declared in the article.
Chatter on the Hill is growing louder for Stebbins and Brad Bondi, a lawyer at Paul Hastings, after former CFTC commissioner Chris Giancarlo announced on X he didn’t want the job and word spread that Dan Gallagher, chief counsel for the trading platform Robinhood, preferred his job in the corporate sector. Sources tell Unchained former commissioner Paul Atkins is also floating around as a potential pick, though it’s unclear if he’s being considered as seriously as Stebbins and Bondi.
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Stebbins was Jay Clayton’s General Counsel at the SEC, which is likely the cause for Clayton’s affection. He is also a colleague of Giancarlo’s at Wilkie Farr & Gallagher (they’re both “Wilkies,” as some lawyers fondly say), which could mean he is getting additional support from the former CFTC Commissioner.
Stebbins and Clayton did not respond to requests for comment by press time. Unchained will update this story with any later comments.
