From WSJ, 16 January 2021, by Paul Kiernan and Scott Patterson:
Gary Gensler [who ran the Commodity Futures Trading Commission from 2009 to 2013] is expected to be Joe Biden’s pick to take over the Securities and Exchange Commission. ‘He will do things that are controversial.’
…The finance industry has thrived under the Trump administration’s light regulatory touch. Mr. Gensler, who sources familiar with the transition say is likely to be tapped by Mr. Biden for SEC chairman …would be tasked with toughening regulation and enforcement of public companies and the finance industry.
… Lawyers, regulators and lobbyists say Mr. Gensler would likely be the most active, pro-regulatory SEC chairman since … the early 2000s… They also expect a renewed eagerness to pursue enforcement cases against major corporations and Wall Street banks. …Mr. Gensler earned a reputation for an aggressive, sharp-elbow style of management more reminiscent of Wall Street than Washington, at times even clashing with officials in his own party.
Mr. Gensler’s record …fits with the Democratic Party’s progressive wing, which hopes to use the SEC as a lever for driving domestic policy goals. These include combating climate change and racial injustice, forcing more transparency around corporate political spending and tilting the balance of power from executives to workers and small investors…