SEC forwards plan to freeze budget and trim staff headcount

The SEC is cutting back on staff and locking in its budget for next year. On Friday night, the agency said it’s asking Congress to keep its 2026 funding flat at $2.15 billion, the same amount it received for 2025.

Along with the frozen budget, the regulator wants to slash its full-time headcount by nearly 10%, from 4,548 positions down to 4,101. This is one of the agency’s most aggressive decisions to scale down operations since hundreds of employees took early-exit packages over the past few months.

According to Reuters, the SEC is bracing for an extended period of tighter operations. It’s already seen a wave of exits this year, with about 600 staff walking away. That exodus hit some departments especially hard. Between 15% and 19% of employees in critical divisions resigned over the span of a few weeks.

The agency isn’t replacing them. Instead, it’s planning to keep things lean and work with fewer hands on deck. The current fiscal year ends in September, but this new plan shows the regulator is preparing for deeper structural changes heading into 2026.

SEC says no more meme coin policing

The SEC’s request for a trimmed workforce and flat budget also comes with a bit of a warning. If Congress dumps more responsibility on the agency, like folding in oversight from a US audit watchdog that could be shut down, the SEC may have to stretch its limited resources even further.

That’s why the agency says the flat budget would still leave about $100 million in reserve, to deal with what it calls “a number of uncertainties.” There’s no list of what those are, but the implication is clear: expect more work, not more funding.

Chairman Paul Atkins is scheduled to testify before the Senate on Tuesday to explain the numbers and the plan. The agency didn’t offer anything beyond what was already in its public filing. But the budget tells a story by itself: fewer people, same money, and a long list of things to do.

Meanwhile, the SEC has officially walked away from meme coins. That decision became public back in February, when the agency declared that most meme coins aren’t securities under US federal law. 

That move effectively took meme coins off the SEC’s plate and off its radar just weeks after President Donald Trump launched his own coin, $TRUMP. The token exploded in value immediately, boosting Trump’s estimated net worth by billions on paper.

Hester Peirce, one of the agency’s longest-serving commissioners, spoke about the decision during the Bitcoin 2025 event in Las Vegas. In an interview with CNBC, she explained why the SEC is staying out of the meme coin scene.

“Here was something where I saw a lot of interest in this out in the world — in meme coins — and it made sense for us to say, ‘People, if you are expecting that there’s SEC protection around these, you should not expect that,’” Peirce said.

That approach fits the broader picture. With fewer people, a tight budget, and potential new responsibilities, the SEC is narrowing its focus. Degens looking for guidance or justice against meme coin scams aren’t going to find it here. The agency has moved on. You’re on your own.

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