WASHINGTON, DC - Under the Trump Administration's watch, enforcement by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has begun to disappear. Cases against corporate wrongdoers have dropped precipitously, allowing those who broke securities laws to go unpunished, leaving defrauded investors without relief, and diminishing the integrity of U.S. financial markets.

Since President Trump took office, SEC staffing has dropped by 17%, including heavy cuts to the SEC Enforcement Division. Paired with the SEC's spending on enforcement being slashed in half, monetary penalties have decreased by 45%, and disgorgement - requiring wrongdoers to give up ill-gotten gains - has dropped by 98% to the lowest rate in modern history by far, according to private analyses.

Earlier this week, the SEC's enforcement director abruptly resigned only six months after being hired and without the announcement of a permanent replacement. Combined with the disappearance of meaningful enforcement, this leadership churn suggests an enforcement program that is adrift and that is not doing its job to investigate and punish past wrongdoing and deter future misconduct.

In a letter to the Trump Administration's SEC Chairman Paul Atkins, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) demanded that the SEC promptly release the agency's fiscal year 2025 enforcement results. This data is usually announced every single year, and it is now months overdue. This unprecedented delay raises fresh questions about what the SEC is trying to hide.

"I write to request that you release detailed data on the Securities and Exchange Commission's enforcement program for 2025 without further delay," Reed wrote. "For decades, this information has been published each year between October and November through a press release with supporting data."

Senator Reed's letter follows a Senate Banking hearing on February 12, 2026 in which Reed repeatedly pressed Chairman Atkins on disappearing enforcement, called for increased oversight, and demanded to know when the SEC enforcement report would be made public.

"As we discussed during your testimony before the Senate Banking Committee on February 12, there is significant concern based on private sector analysis that the SEC is abandoning its enforcement mission," Reed continued. "You disputed that conclusion and the underlying data. You also said that the SEC would be publishing official enforcement results for 2025 'in the next few weeks,' claiming that the government shutdown delayed its timely release at the end of last year."

Reed called for Chairman Atkins to release 2025 enforcement data no later than March 23, and pointed out the inconsistencies with the argument Atkins made during the February 12 hearing: "It is now one month since your testimony and four months since the SEC reopened. While the Commission still has not released its enforcement data, since the shutdown ended the agency has published a dozen studies and reports. These include many that are far more detailed and complex than the enforcement data, such as the SEC's 2025 Agency Financial Report that stretches to 132 pages and contains the agency's financial statements," Reed concluded.

It is the SEC's job to recover investors' money and impose penalties when wrongdoers break U.S. securities laws. Congress relies on SEC enforcement data to ensure the agency is adequately fulfilling its mission and protecting the integrity of the nation's markets. The last time SEC staffing and enforcement actions dropped to historic lows as they appear to be today, it missed Bernie Madoff's fraud and the Wall Street practices that led to the 2008 financial crisis.

Just this week, it was announced that the SEC Enforcement Division Director, Judge Margaret A. Ryan, has resigned from her post after only six months on the job. This departure is yet another red flag at the SEC, as Enforcement Directors routinely hold their positions for years.

The full letter can be viewed here and continues below.

March 17, 2026

The Honorable Paul Atkins, Chairman

Securities and Exchange Commission

100 F Street NE

Washington, D.C. 20549

Dear Chairman Atkins:

I write to request that you release detailed data on the Securities and Exchange Commission's enforcement program for 2025 without further delay. For decades, this information has been published each year between October and November through a press release with supporting data.

As we discussed during your testimony before the Senate Banking Committee on February 12, there is significant concern based on private sector analysis that the SEC is abandoning its enforcement mission. You disputed that conclusion and the underlying data. You also said that the SEC would be publishing official enforcement results for 2025 "in the next few weeks," claiming that the government shutdown delayed its timely release at the end of last year.

It is now one month since your testimony and four months since the SEC reopened. While the Commission still has not released its enforcement data, since the shutdown ended the agency has published a dozen studies and reports. These include many that are far more detailed and complex than the enforcement data, such as the SEC's 2025 Agency Financial Report that stretches to 132 pages and contains the agency's financial statements.

The SEC's annual enforcement results are essential for Congress to assess the Commission's performance and to evaluate its budget request for Fiscal Year 2027. I ask that the agency publish this information by March 23.

Thank you for your attention to this matter, and I look forward to your prompt response.

Sincerely,

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