Hester Peirce to Leave SEC Friday, Leaving Two Commissioners in Place

Hester Peirce, a commissioner at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, will leave the agency Oct. 2. When she goes, the five-seat commission will be down to two members: Chairman Paul Atkins and Commissioner Mark Uyeda.

Peirce shared her resignation letter to President Donald Trump on X on Sept. 25. The letter is dated Sept. 21. In it she called her time at the commission “the honor of my professional lifetime.” She also opened with a statement of the philosophy behind much of her regulatory record.

“The United States is exceptional because its unifying thread is a commitment to liberty,” she wrote. “A nation that elevates freedom of thought, expression, and action unlocks the great potential of its people to meet one another’s needs.”

Peirce wrote that she is confident the agency will keep “maximizing people’s freedom to choose what is best for themselves and their families within sensible regulatory parameters.”

Peirce joined the commission in January 2018 during Trump’s first term, and her term expired in June 2025. She kept serving under the provision that lets commissioners stay up to 18 months after their terms end. After Trump returned to office, she led the SEC’s crypto task force. That work, and her years of backing digital assets, earned her the nickname “Crypto Mom” in the industry.

Before joining the commission, Peirce was a staff member in the SEC’s Division of Investment Management and served as counsel to Atkins during his first stint as a commissioner. She also studied financial markets regulation at George Mason University’s Mercatus Center.

Next, she will become an associate professor at Regent University School of Law in Virginia Beach, a move she announced earlier this year.

Her departure leaves three seats open. Jaime Lizárraga and Caroline Crenshaw, the Democratic commissioners, left in January 2025 and January 2026, respectively, and neither seat has been filled. A 1995 rule lets the SEC operate with fewer than three commissioners.

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