Since he took over as SEC chairman, Gary Gensler has been in a lot of legal disputes with private companies, and the results have been mixed. However, he’s been on the losing side of a lot of these cases recently, and a lot of them have been high-profile. People are turning against him. The latest setback is his failed attempt to repeal a 2020 rule that expanded the SEC's oversight to proxy advisory firms. The story started in July 2020 when former chair Jay Clayton expanded the SEC's authority over these firms, which are key players in guiding shareholder votes on board proposals. This has an impact on public company directions. When Gensler got there, he quickly started looking into the 2020 rule to see if it could be changed. The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) led the way with legal challenges to try to stop the SEC from giving up control over the sector. The legal fight between NAM and the SEC got even more intense when it went to the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. The court ruled against the SEC, which was another big setback for Gensler.
This isn't the first time Gensler has faced setbacks in his regulatory efforts. In February, the US District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that his move to rescind the rule was unlawful, specifically regarding amendments to proxy rules' definitions.
Gensler's challenges go beyond proxy advisory firms to the crypto sector, where he's had some notable losses and had to adjust his approach in several cases. He decided not to take ConsenSys to court, which seems to be a sign that he's changing his approach to things now that he's under a lot of pressure. The case that's still going is against Ripple, where they're questioning whether XRP is a security. Even here, Gensler has had some setbacks. He's changed his strategy and dropped charges against Ripple's CEO and founder in a bid to salvage the case. The outcome of the Ripple lawsuit could have a big impact on Gensler's legacy. As Gensler deals with these legal battles, he's facing criticism, with people questioning whether he's effective in a pivotal election year. Despite the challenges, the XRP community is staying strong. It's still one of the largest projects in the crypto space, with XRP currently trading at $0.479 and a market cap of $26.67 billion. That's up 1.77% from yesterday.
