The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has appointed Gibson Dunn partner David Woodcock as the new head of the agency's enforcement division, after Margaret Ryan suddenly resigned last month.

Woodcock will take over the leadership of the department's 1000 employees on May 4. Acting director Sam Waldon will continue in the role until then.

Why Ryan's departure still casts a shadow over the appointment

Ryan resigned on March 16 after just six months. She is said to have pushed for fraud charges against individuals in Donald Trump's circle, including cryptocurrency entrepreneur Justin Sun.

SEC leader Paul Atkins and other Republican members are reported to have opposed this.

The SEC settled the case against Sun and three associated companies for $10 million in March. Sun neither admitted nor denied the allegations.

He has been a significant investor in the Trump family's World Liberty Financial project.

Senator Richard Blumenthal has since demanded access to the agency's documents, calling the enforcement line under Atkins a "pay-to-play" system.

Woodcock's profile and the decline in enforcement

Woodcock led the SEC's Fort Worth office from 2011 to 2015. He has no obvious ties to digital asset policy.

His most recent positions have been as a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and assistant legal director at ExxonMobil.

He is appointed in the same week that the SEC presented its enforcement report for the fiscal year 2025. The agency brought 456 cases, a decrease of 22% from last year's 583.

The department also lost 18% of its employees during the period.

I am very pleased that David is returning to the SEC in this critical phase, where we continue to focus on types of misconduct that cause the greatest harm to investors, the announcement states, referring to Atkins.

Will Woodcock continue the agency's withdrawal from crypto enforcement, or will he choose a new course?

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