“This SEC is now putting Wall Street and Billionaires first and America’s investors last,” said Congresswoman Maxine Waters, criticizing the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Chair Paul Atkins on 11 February 2026.
Congresswoman Waters accused Atkins of favoring Wall Street over regular investors.
She stated that since his tenure began, Atkins has withdrawn 14 major proposals that would have protected retail investors. He dismissed cases and investigations against US President Donald Trump’s “crypto billionaire friends,” pared back corporate disclosures that provide the public with critical information and moved to let private equity dump their failing assets.
Furthermore, she questioned if Atkins’s statement, “it is a new day for the SEC,” meant that the SEC is now prioritizing Wall Street and billionaires over America’s investors.
Congresswoman Waters also asserted that the executive branch and Congress, under Republican control, have become a “rubbish stamp for carrying out Trump’s personal agenda.”
She concluded by stating that Atkins is “aiding and abetting” a “reckless and unlawful agenda” by not enforcing the rule of law against the US President and his friends who are “openly engaged in grift and corruption,” calling the current situation at the SEC a “Wall Street and billionaire holiday.”
With political tensions rising in Washington, is this regulatory reset exactly what the market needs to spark the next major rally?
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Is SEC Favoring Wall Street Over Investors ? Chair Paul Atkins Says He Is Committed To Protecting Investors
During the heated meeting, without addressing Congresswoman Waters, Atkins stated that he returned to the SEC nine months prior with a “clear mandate to recommit the agency to our core mission of protecting investors, maintaining fair, orderly, and efficient markets, and facilitating capital formation.”
So far, Atkins has been credited with “the end of regulation by enforcement.”
Meanwhile, Congresswoman Waters’ primary concern? The agency has reportedly paused or dismissed investigations into high-profile crypto figures, which she claims includes allies of the administration.
Waters pointed out that the SEC currently lacks a single Democratic commissioner. She said that this may lead to what she calls a breakdown in bipartisan policy-making. Instead of the strict enforcement we saw previously, the agency is rolling back proposals that were meant to tighten custody rules, which is a topic that has been central to the stalled CLARITY Act discussions.
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