WASHINGTON — During the 2024 Presidential election, President Donald Trump vowed to continue where he left off during his first term in office, holding federal government agencies like the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) fully transparent and accountable.
Republican members of Congress continue to praise the Trump administration’s efforts to cut wasteful spending throughout the federal government, and to press “deep state” bureaucrats to clean up their acts or face real consequences.
Florida Rep. Byron Donalds, who sits on the House Financial Services Committee, recently echoed what Texas Rep. Pete Sessions said about cleaning up the SEC, saying,” The SEC’s on notice.”
Rep. Donalds, who, prior to becoming a congressman, was a financial advisor, took a shot at the SEC under former President Biden, calling the agency “atrocious,” adding that the Financial Services Committee “does what it can do” on oversight over the SEC.
When asked if he supported the Trump administration implementing oversight by political appointees to curb enforcement overreach, as it is doing with grant approvals, Rep. Donalds agreed with the practice.
The whole point for political appointees is for the White House to be able to give direction on what the administrative state is doing,” said Donalds. “That’s the whole purpose. So, yeah, of course, they should be using political appointees.”
Like Donalds and fellow Floridian, Rep. Mike Haridopolos, Rep. Sessions supports reigning in regulation through enforcement by the SEC and other agencies.
Recent executive directives require agencies to repeal five regulations for every new one they implement. Congress is reviewing ways to scale back enforcement-based rules. Sessions said this approach could make capital markets more accessible and predictable.
"The president set a new standard, we agree with it. For every brand new rule, you've got to take five out," he said. "So we're reviewing those to see what would be taken out, dismissed, and make the marketplace more readily available.
As bipartisan concerns over federal enforcement grow, lawmakers like Sessions are calling for greater transparency across agencies. Congress is signaling that unchecked authority and delayed oversight are no longer acceptable.
