SEC Chair Gary Gensler is being considered for Treasury Secretary: report

Gary Gensler, the crypto-skeptical head of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, is likely to be nominated as Treasury Secretary if Vice President Kamala Harris wins the presidential election this November, according to a Washington Reporter article on Monday.

“[M]ultiple senior Senate staffers are telling the Washington Reporter that if Vice President Kamala Harris wins in November, she plans to nominate Gensler as her Treasury Secretary,” according to the report, which cites unnamed sources.

Gensler, appointed SEC Chairman in 2021 by President Joe Biden, has earned a reputation as an enemy of crypto for bringing enforcement actions against some of the leading projects and companies in the industry including Coinbase, Kraken and Uniswap.

Gensler’s approach to crypto has been criticized by politicians from across the aisle. Sen. Tom Emmer, a Republican representative from Minnesota, for instance, has said the industry must resist Gensler’s “mission to upend free markets, innovation, and global competitiveness” while U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres, a Democrat from New York, described Gensler’s understanding of securities laws as "malleable and manipulable."

He was formerly chair of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission during the Obama administration and a senior advisor to U.S. Senator Paul Sarbanes when drafting the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. His tenure at the SEC official ends in 2026 but is likely contingent on whether former President Donald Trump — a recent advocate of crypto — is reelected.

Some are skeptical of the report

The Department of the Treasury operates and maintains the U.S. financial infrastructure, including collecting taxes, printing greenbacks, and issuing debt in addition to enforcing financial sanctions. The Treasury Secretary, sometimes called the “chief financial officer” of the country, also helps direct fiscal policy.

The Washington Reporter says SEC Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw may replace Gensler as top securities cop. Emmer has also said that Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren may also be a contender for the Treasury Secretary position.

The publication describes itself as a “right-of-center” digital newspaper focused on government affairs. It is staffed by self-described full-time Republican political “operatives” and was launched in 2024.

Caitlin Long, CEO of Avanti Bank and Wyoming blockchain doyen, is skeptical of the news, and said on social media platform X that Gensler himself could have started the rumor he was being considered for the cabinet position “to mess with all of us.”

It was a point echoed by Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Eric Balchunas, who said on X that he "could totally see this as made-up rumor."

"If you were a Republican and you wanted to help shore up the crypto vote, hard to think of anything more powerful than giving ppl the visual of Genz having even more power. Even if not true, it's potent," Balchunas said.