This story originally ran in Financial Advisor IQ sister publication Ignites.
Robinhood's chief legal officer, Dan Gallagher, is a leading contender for Securities and Exchange Commission chair under a second Donald Trump administration.
Unnamed former senior regulators, lobbyists and securities lawyers speaking to Politico said Gallagher would be a likely nominee, with one dubbing him "a natural choice."
Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.), who chairs a House Financial Services Committee panel, told Politico he would welcome Gallagher's appointment.
"Dan would be great," Huizenga said. "I've had a great relationship working with him, even when we disagreed on some stuff."
As Robinhood's top lawyer, Gallagher is spearheading the firm's defense in a likely lawsuit by the commission. SEC staff in May issued a Wells notice warning Robinhood that they intend to file an enforcement action against it, presumably over failing to register before trading crypto securities.
In a Politico interview, Gallagher faulted the SEC under Chair Gary Gensler for neglecting to enact clear rules for registering crypto exchanges and brokers, saying "I would have done things differently."
Trump has promised to enact cryptocurrency-friendly regulatory policy as president, telling a Bitcoin industry conference this summer that "the rules will be written by people who love your industry, not hate your industry."