SEC Staffing Levels Dip 18% Under Trump

Staffing levels at the SEC have declined nearly 20% since 2025, new government data shows.

That drop is due to attrition and the White House’s job-cutting efforts, according to a report on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released Friday (March 27) by the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

The report shows that the divisions seeing the largest losses were the ones charged with regulating investment and credit ratings. The 18% reduction in force, as of the end of September, was much sharper than what was seen across the government as a whole, which dipped by 12%.

“The workforce changes SEC made in 2025 were significant and could pose risks to the agency’s ability to fulfill its mission,” the report reads.

“SEC officials told us that their efforts to address the effects of these changes are ongoing. For example, in December 2025, SEC officials said SEC’s newly established strategic hiring committee had begun gathering additional information on unmet critical hiring needs across divisions and offices.”

The cuts came amid President Donald Trump’s efforts to reduce the size of the federal government early in his second term, with thousands of positions being eliminated at the SEC and other agencies.

In related news, the SEC’s enforcement director, Judge Margaret Ryan, stepped down from her position earlier this month after six months on the job. The commission said Principal Deputy Director Sam Waldon would serve as the division’s acting director, with the SEC expecting to name a new permanent enforcement director in the weeks ahead.

“Judge Ryan has served with honor and distinction since joining the Commission last year, hallmarks that have served her incredibly well throughout her distinguished career and will continue to do so,” Paul Atkins, chairman of the SEC, said in a news release.

“Under her leadership, the division reprioritized enforcing the nation’s securities laws, with a focus on pursuing fraud.”

News of Ryan’s departure appeared the same day as a report that the commission was readying a proposal to do away with a rule that requires public companies to report earnings each quarter, and rather share these results twice per year.

As The Wall Street Journal reported, the SEC has been in discussions with officials at major exchanges about the possible change, which came after Trump said in a post on Truth Social in September that companies should be allowed to report their earnings every six months rather than on a quarterly schedule.