Republican lawmakers will challenge Chair Gary Gensler in today's House Financial Services Committee hearing, as they have upon his testimony two weeks ago to the Senate Banking Committee. Their criticism of Gensler has been ongoing since the start of the Biden administration, due to the more than 40 rules Gensler has proposed. Dissatisfied with the lack of industry input, data sharing for policy decisions, and roundtable discussions, the financial services sector is now turning to a more confrontational stance, with some companies even suing the Commission. The complaints from the industry have reached a peak, with members of the industry remarking that the 'comment letters' are a facade and that their points are often ignored. This month, lawsuits have been filed over the Private Funds Adviser Rule and a case was brought against Virtu Financial, who has openly criticized the SECs market structure rule proposals. Gensler will likely be grilled on his proposed and adopted rules, including Climate-Related Disclosures, which have yet to be adopted and are being attacked for going beyond the SEC's mandate. Additionally, he is likely to be asked about the cases brought against crypto intermediaries and the bitcoin ETF lawsuit. Despite the hostility his actions have elicited, Gensler has maintained that he is listening to industry complaints and that the SEC will take into account all comments received before they make a decision. It is possible that a few Democrats may join the Republicans and push Gensler to slow down the rulemaking process. However, with Gensler having a 3-2 majority at the Commission, it is unlikely that he will be swayed.
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