Robinhood attorney, Republican regulators being considered for Trump financial agency short list

By Chris Prentice, Pete Schroeder, Svea Herbst-Bayliss and Michelle Price

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Trump transition team officials are considering retail brokerage Robinhood's top lawyer, as well as bank regulators and corporate attorneys, for a short list of key financial agency heads they expect to present to the president-elect soon, according to multiple people with knowledge of the matter.

Among those being considered for chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission is Dan Gallagher, a Republican SEC commissioner from 2011 to 2015 who is currently chief legal and compliance officer at Robinhood, the people said.

Gallagher, who is a popular pick among cryptocurrency executives who donated millions of dollars to Donald Trump's Republican campaign, is the front-runner at this point, although the discussions are fluid, two of the people said.

Also in the mix for SEC chair is Paul Atkins, another former Republican SEC commissioner and CEO of consultancy Patomak Global Partners. Atkins served on Trump's transition team in 2016, when he was also a contender for the SEC chair role, Reuters reported at the time.

Robert Stebbins, a partner at law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher who served as SEC general counsel during Trump's first administration, is also being discussed for the SEC short list.

Trump transition team officials are compiling a short list of a handful of individuals for each financial agency which they will present to Trump, said two of the people. The process could take a few weeks, and it was still too early to say who would ultimately win the top jobs, the people said.

Gallagher and Atkins did not respond to requests for comment on Thursday. Stebbins declined to comment.

In a statement, 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."

Trump's campaign courted crypto industry cash with promises to promote bitcoin and overhaul the SEC, whose Democratic chair, Gary Gensler, has cracked down hard on the industry, saying it has flouted SEC rules. Crypto companies have been pushing for an SEC chair who will quickly end his crackdown and tear up other unfriendly policies, Reuters previously reported.

Many in the industry saw Republican SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, a crypto enthusiast, as a strong candidate for SEC chair, but she has told several people she does not want the job, several sources said. A spokesperson for Peirce said she declined to comment on Thursday.

Gensler's term ends in 2026, but he has indicated he will step down when the new Republican administration comes in.

BANKING REGULATORS

While Trump has said little on financial policy this time around, he has again pledged to slash "burdensome" regulations. Bankers and lobbyists expect his administration will rip up or dramatically weaken draft "Basel" rules requiring that big banks raise the amount of capital they must put aside to absorb losses, restrictions on mergers and acquisition, and other rules being pursued by the Biden administration agency heads.

Trump can remove Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu on day one, but overhauling the Federal Reserve's top regulatory spot and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation board could take some months.

Among those being considered for the short list of top bank regulators are Michelle Bowman, a Fed governor and former community banker who has criticized capital hikes led by Michael Barr, Fed vice chair for supervision, and made the case for easing bank rules and supervision.

Barr has conveyed to allies that he intends to serve out his vice chair term into 2026, according to a different source familiar with the matter. It was unclear whether Trump could or would try to remove Barr from his role sooner.

A Fed spokesperson declined to comment.

Travis Hill, the Republican vice chairman of the FDIC Board and a former Senate Banking Committee lawyer who has also opposed the Basel rules, is also being considered for the short list of top banking regulator roles, the people said.

Jonathan Gould, a partner at law firm Jones Day who served as the senior deputy comptroller and chief counsel of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency from 2018 to 2021, is also in mix, the people said.

Gould and a spokesperson for Hill declined to comment. The FDIC did not respond to a request for comment. An Office of the Comptroller of the Currency spokesperson said Hsu is committed to an orderly transition.

(Reporting by Chris Prentice, Pete Schroeder, Svea Herbst-Bayliss and Michelle Price; additional reporting by Saeed Azhar, Nupur Anand, Lananh Nguyen, Douglas Gillison, Lawrence Delevingne and Hannah Lang; editing by Jonathan Oatis)