Hundreds of SEC staffers take Trump’s buyout offer in mass exodus

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is bleeding workers. Over 600 staffers have already taken Trump’s buyout offer, according to a report from Reuters on Saturday. They’re walking out across multiple departments, including enforcement lawyers and senior officials. And that number is still climbing.

This comes as part of Trump’s broader plan to cut the federal workforce. His White House told agencies to draft blueprints for a second round of layoffs by March 13. According to the agency’s own numbers submitted to Congress, this wave has already claimed more than 12% of the SEC’s total workforce.

Trump and Musk push cuts as hundreds exit SEC

The White House started sending out voluntary departure offers to civil servants earlier this year. Two sources with direct knowledge and two others briefed on internal updates said more than 600 SEC employees have agreed to go. A Friday deadline was set for the resignation program, so that number is expected to increase before the day ends.

A source told Reuters that since late January when the Trump team rolled out the buyouts, over 700 staffers submitted their resignations. That includes more than 150 enforcement staff. Another source said more than a dozen senior staffers also took one of the deals.

Some of the resignations may not be linked directly to Trump’s offers. One person close to the situation apparently told Reuters that a few staffers might still back out last minute. But as of now, the numbers show a serious workforce collapse inside the agency.

The Division of Enforcement and the Office of General Counsel have been hit the hardest, two sources confirmed. These departments are crucial. They handle market abuse, insider trading, securities fraud, and everything else related to enforcement. And now, a huge chunk of them are walking out.

A person familiar with internal chatter allegedly said, “The hope is that the buyouts will calm Trump and Musk down so they don’t push harder for forced layoffs.” Whether that gamble works is unclear.

The buyouts and early retirement deals were offered under Acting Chairman Mark Uyeda, who’s been leading the agency since January. He launched the incentives even before Trump’s nominee, Paul Atkins, stepped in. Uyeda is a Republican who’s been involved in several recent agency shake-ups.

The SEC staff has been dealing with more than just buyouts. They’ve seen office closures, team reshuffles, and priority changes all within the last few weeks. It’s not just a few policy tweaks. It’s a whole system shakeup.

SEC crypto task force finally talks to the industry

Amid the chaos, something else happened. For the first time ever, the SEC’s crypto task force met publicly with people from the crypto space. No subpoenas. No lawsuits. Just an actual meeting.

The roundtable happened on Friday and was filled with known names like John Reed Stark, Miles Jennings, and Troy Paredes. Hester Peirce, the Republican commissioner, ran the show.

Peirce said during the event, “Spring signifies new beginnings and we have a new beginning here, a restart of the commission’s approach to crypto regulation.”

Nobody knows if that means anything real yet. But something has definitely changed. The fact they met at all without throwing lawsuits is a shift. Crypto is finally being discussed like it belongs in the room, not like it’s a virus to eliminate.

The agency also made some quiet moves lately that tell the same story. The SEC officially confirmed that memecoins aren’t securities. It also dropped several enforcement cases related to crypto. And they gave a green light on PoW mining, signaling that Bitcoin mining won’t be targeted under securities law.

Paul Atkins prepares to take over SEC in full swing

Paul Atkins is set to appear before the Senate Banking Committee on March 27. If confirmed, he’ll become the next SEC Chairman, replacing Uyeda. The hearing is locked in and will take place in Washington.

Paul is not new to the job. He served as SEC commissioner from 2002 to 2008. After that, he launched his own consulting firm, Patomak Global Partners, based in D.C. Now, he’s set to return right in the middle of a total agency overhaul.

Sources expect Paul to back off enforcement and streamline the IPO process. He wants to make it easier for private companies to go public without endless roadblocks. That would be a big shift from the SEC’s usual style of “enforcement first, talk later.”

Crypto insiders are watching Paul closely. He’s been a Bitcoin investor since 2011. He’s also known to favor rule-based regulation over lawsuits. That fits with what we’re seeing now.

If confirmed, Paul is expected to continue all the major changes started under Uyeda. Enforcement will likely shrink. IPO rules will probably get rewritten. And crypto won’t be treated like a scam by default anymore.

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