Episode 48: Can the President Fire the SEC Chair?

Tokens of Wisdom

There is a presidential election happening right now, and regardless of your political views, if you’re listening to this, you probably like crypto. In fact, the election-related question I get most frequently goes something like this:

• If Trump wins, will he really replace Gary Gensler on day one as promised? Or
• If Harris wins, will she replace Gensler as quickly as Trump would?

This of course begs the question: Can the president fire the SEC chair? Turns out, there is significant legal uncertainty around how an SEC chairperson can be removed.

Key Points From This Episode:

• History of the SEC and how it is managed.
• What does the law say about SEC commissioner removal?
• What does the constitution say about SEC commissioner removal?
• What is common historical practice when there’s a new president?
• Baseless speculation/prediction time!

Disclaimer:

This show is for informational purposes only. Nothing presented here constitutes legal advice. Tokens of Wisdom is produced by Dave Rothschild, partner at Cole-Frieman & Mallon LLP headquartered in San Francisco, California. For more information, visit https://colefrieman.com/

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Dave Rothschild - https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidcrothschild/

Cole-Frieman & Mallon LLP - https://colefrieman.com/

Music by Joe Ginsberg - https://www.instagram.com/thejoeginsberg

For any questions or comments, email: [e-mail]

Supreme Court Cases discussed today:

• Myers v United States: https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/272/52/
• Humphrey's Executor v. United States: https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/295/602/
• Free Enterprise Fund v. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board: https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/561/477/