The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, has appointed Gibson Dunn partner David Woodcock as the new head of the enforcement division. He replaces Margaret Ryan, who unexpectedly left her position last month.

Woodcock begins leading the 1 000-person enforcement division on May 4. Sam Waldon is the interim head until then.

Why Ryan's departure still impacts the appointment

Ryan left her position on March 16 after just six months. According to reports, she wanted to pursue fraud charges against individuals close to President Donald Trump, including crypto figure Justin Sun.

SEC Chairman Paul Atkins and other Republicans halted these attempts, according to several reports.

SEC ended its process against Sun and three affiliated companies in March. Sun and the companies paid $10 million, but admitted no wrongdoing.

He is a major investor in the Trump family's World Liberty Financial project.

Senator Richard Blumenthal has since demanded that the agency release documents. He describes the approach under Atkins as a 'pay-to-play' system.

Woodcock's profile and reduced oversight

Woodcock led the SEC's regional office in Fort Worth between 2011 and 2015. He has no clear connections to digital asset policy.

His latest roles are as a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and deputy general counsel at ExxonMobil.

He takes the job the same week that the SEC published its report for 2025. The agency initiated 456 actions, which is 22% lower than last year's 583.

The division also lost 18% of its staff during the same period.

I am very pleased that David is returning to the SEC at this important time when we are focusing on what harms investors the most, said Atkins in a statement.

Will Woodcock continue the agency's withdrawal from crypto oversight, or will he choose a different path?

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