SEC Enforcement Director Exits After 6 Months

The regulator announced Monday (March 16) that Judge Margaret Ryan had stepped down as director of the Division of Enforcement.

Principal Deputy Director Sam Waldon will now serve as the division’s acting director, with the SEC expecting to announce a new permanent enforcement director in the coming weeks.

“Judge Ryan has served with honor and distinction since joining the Commission last year, hallmarks that have served her incredibly well throughout her distinguished career and will continue to do so,” Paul Atkins, chairman of the SEC, said in a news release.

“Under her leadership, the division reprioritized enforcing the nation’s securities laws, with a focus on pursuing fraud.”

Ryan, a former military judge, joined the SEC in September. Her departure was initially reported by Reuters, which noted that the judge — a former Marine who had clerked for well-known conservative jurists — had been viewed as an unusual choice for the enforcement role, as she had little experience with securities ​law.

However, sources told Reuters Ryan was generally seen as supportive of SEC staff when it came to enforcement matters.

The report noted her tenure coincided with what some lawyers deemed a spotty or slow period of enforcement at the watchdog, as well as a government shutdown and ongoing staff departures under the Trump administration.

Enforcement has slowed during the first year under Republican leadership, the report pointed out, with the SEC dismissing several cryptocurrency-related prosecutions.

“As I recently said, I did not seek the role of Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. Rather, this role found me,” Ryan said. “And for that, I am grateful. I am confident that the foundation I helped to shape – working together with Chairman Atkins – will continue to serve investors and the markets well.”

News of Ryan’s departure came the same day as a report that the SEC was preparing a proposal to abolish a rule requiring public companies to report earnings each quarter, and instead share these results twice each year.

The regulator has been in talks with officials at major exchanges about the possible change and could publish a proposal for public comment as soon as April, according to The Wall Street Journal. The report pointed out that President Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social in September that companies should be permitted to report their earnings every six months rather than every three months.