The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) headquarters in Washington, D.C., U.S. on March 5, 2025.
Leslie Josephs | CNBC
Wall Street’s top regulator is facing a staff exodus across key departments as hundreds have agreed to take resignation offers amid President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s efforts to remake the U.S. government, five people familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Departures from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including by senior staff and enforcement lawyers, could significantly hamper the watchdog’s efforts to police markets and protect investors, the sources said. The exits, first reported by Reuters, stem from Trump and Musk’s efforts to slash the federal workforce.
Since the White House began offering voluntary departures across the civil service, more than 600 people have agreed to leave the SEC, said two sources with direct knowledge and two people briefed on the matter. Friday is the deadline for the SEC’s latest resignation incentive programs.
Trump gave agencies until March 13 to draw up plans for a second wave of mass layoffs as part of his rapid-fire effort to reshape and downsize the federal government, which he has called bloated and inefficient.
The estimates put the voluntary departures at more than 12% of the SEC’s staff, according to overall staff numbers included in the agency’s latest budget report to Congress.
An SEC spokesperson declined to comment. Reuters could not determine exactly when those people would leave the agency.
Spokespeople for the White House and Musk did not respond to requests for comment.
Areas of the agency hardest hit include the Division of Enforcement and its Office of General Counsel, said two of the sources.
Some departures may be unrelated to the voluntary measures and some who had offered to resign may change their minds, one person said. Employees have until the end of Friday to tender their resignations, meaning the number is sure to rise.
According to one of the sources, since late January, when the Trump administration’s first offers to compensate departing workers began, more than 700 SEC staff members have handed in resignation notices, including more than 150 in enforcement.
A second person briefed on the matter said that over a dozen senior staff have taken one of the offers.
The Trump administration has offered to pay staff to retire early or resign to encourage workforce reductions. Some at the SEC hope the incentives will reduce calls from Musk or Trump for mass layoffs at the agency, said one of the sources.
The efforts began under SEC Acting Chairman Mark Uyeda, a Republican, even before the arrival of Trump’s nominee for his replacement, Paul Atkins, who is slated to testify before Congress next week.
SEC rank and file have already faced changes, realignment, possible office closures and shifting priorities in recent weeks.
