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While we’re on the topic of SEC staffing, Democratic senators Elizabeth Warren and Mark Warner have asked the GAO to investigate the impact of staffing cuts and related actions on the SEC’s ability to protect investors and comply with its statutory mandates. According to USA Today, the GAO is on the case:

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 Sens. 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.

The report says that the GAO would begin its work within the next three months.

The senators’ letter also asked the GAO to conduct a detailed review of actions taken by SEC leadership, including acting leadership, to pause or halt enforcement and supervisory actions that were ongoing at the agency as of January 20, 2025, and to look into the involvement of the White House and DOGE in any of those decisions.

– John Jenkins