House Democrats urge SEC to revisit Justin Sun enforcement case
Three Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives have asked U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Paul Atkins to explain the agency’s decisions to close investigations or dismiss enforcement actions in “at least one dozen” crypto-related matters, and urged the commission to revive its case against Tron founder Justin Sun.
In a letter dated Thursday, Representatives Maxine Waters, Brad Sherman and Sean Casten questioned the SEC’s priorities and effectiveness in light of multiple crypto case dismissals, asserting the agency had moved to end many of its enforcement actions, including those involving Binance, Coinbase and Kraken.
The lawmakers focused primarily on the Sun matter. In February, SEC attorneys asked a federal court to stay the enforcement action against Sun while they explored a potential resolution, according to the filing.
Waters, Sherman and Casten raised concerns about Sun’s ties to China and suggested the handling of the case could reflect a “pay-to-play” dynamic, citing Sun’s purchases totaling millions of dollars in tokens from World Liberty Financial, a crypto firm backed by U.S. President Donald Trump and his sons.
The letter warned that maintaining the stay—now in effect for 11 months—could erode investor confidence and signal selective enforcement, implying that individuals with sufficient political influence might avoid accountability.
The representatives asked the SEC to preserve and provide all documents and communications related to its decisions in the Sun case and pressed the commission to consider reopening the action. The SEC and a spokesperson for Sun did not respond to requests for comment by the time of publication.
In December, Waters urged Representative French Hill, chair of the House Financial Services Committee, to hold a hearing on what she described as the SEC’s rapid, significant and questionable policy shifts during the Trump Administration, pointing to terminated and stayed crypto enforcement actions.
Separately, in September, Casten joined Senator Jeff Merkley in a letter to Atkins questioning the agency’s decision-making regarding the Sun case.
SEC now led solely by Republicans following Crenshaw’s exit
Caroline Crenshaw departed the SEC earlier this month as the final remaining Democratic commissioner, leaving three Republican commissioners—Mark Uyeda, Hester Pierce and Atkins—at the agency. As of Thursday, Trump had not named nominees to fill the two vacant seats or to restore bipartisan balance.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is in a comparable position, with only one sitting commissioner, Michael Selig, a Trump-appointed Republican. The CFTC’s leadership typically comprises five Senate-confirmed commissioners.
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