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By Chris Prentice
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. Government Accountability Office plans to scrutinize changes at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including any led by the White House or Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, according to a letter sent to Democratic lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
The GAO, Congress' nonpartisan research arm, told senators Elizabeth Warren and Mark Warner it will review the SEC's recent efforts to cut staff, end leases and consolidate its work, according to a copy of the April 8 letter seen by Reuters.
The lawmakers last month pressed the watchdog to investigate after Reuters and other media reported DOGE's arrival and other major changes at the regulator, which oversees U.S. capital markets.
That request "is within the scope of (GAO's) authority," said the letter signed by A. Nicole Clowers, managing director of GAO's congressional relations office, confirming the work would begin in about three months.
The SEC has undergone big changes since President Donald Trump took office and Republicans took over the agency, scrapping high-profile cases, reorganizing staff and reining in enforcement staff's ability to kick off formal probes.
The commission is also facing an exodus, with hundreds of staff taking resignation offers amid efforts to remake the U.S. government. Trump, along with special adviser Musk, are undertaking a massive downsizing across federal agencies.
"It is essential that Congress and the public understand how the Trump Administration’s recent actions have affected the SEC's ability to carry out its mission and statutory obligations," Warren and Warner said in a March 28 letter to the GAO.
The SEC's budget is set by Congress, but the funding comes from transaction fees imposed on the financial sector and not taxpayer dollars, according to the agency.
The overhaul at the SEC comes as U.S. markets face historic volatility following Trump's April 2 announcement of sweeping tariffs, which he subsequently paused.
(Reporting by Chris Prentice, editing by Pete Schroeder and Cynthia Osterman)
