The U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs’ Ranking Member, Senator Elizabeth Warren, sent a letter to Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Paul Atkins questioning the SEC’s Fiscal Year 2025 enforcement performance and raising concerns that his prior testimony may have misled the Committee. The letter follows the SEC’s delayed release of FY 2025 enforcement data, which Warren argued show a sharp decline in enforcement activity. Warren cited the SEC’s figures showing 456 total enforcement actions in FY 2025, including 200 filed under former Chair Gary Gensler, and asserted that enforcement actions initiated were lower than at any point in the last decade. She also referenced an analysis of the SEC’s data indicating that money distributed to victims fell to USD 262 million, down from USD 937 million in fiscal 2022, and pointed to what she described as reduced staffing and sudden leadership changes. The letter points to a February 12, 2026 Committee hearing where Atkins implied he was unaware of data Warren had described, warning that deliberately misleading Congress can carry severe penalties. Warren requested written answers from Atkins by April 28, 2026.
U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs 2026-04-17
U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs ranking member challenges SEC Chair Atkins on FY 2025 enforcement decline and alleged misleading testimony
The U.S. Senate Banking Committee’s Ranking Member, Senator Elizabeth Warren, has sent a letter to SEC Chair Paul Atkins questioning the agency’s FY 2025 enforcement performance and whether his prior testimony misled the Committee. Citing SEC data, she highlights a decade-low 456 enforcement actions, a sharp drop in victim distributions to USD 262 million from USD 937 million in fiscal 2022, reduced staffing and leadership changes, and warns that misleading Congress carries severe penalties.