Trump’s Efficiency Unit Presses SEC to Ease SPAC, Private Fund Rules

President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has begun pressing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to roll back Biden-era regulations on blank-check companies and private investment advisers, according to two people familiar with the matter. DOGE officials have recently sought meetings with SEC staff to discuss revisiting rules adopted last year that tightened oversight of Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) and expanded confidential reporting requirements for private funds via Form PF. The push is part of a wider White House deregulatory drive ordered in February that instructs agencies to identify regulations that impose "undue burdens" on business. A White House spokesperson said the collaboration aims to "maintain fair and orderly markets while protecting everyday investors," while an SEC representative confirmed the agency is working with DOGE on cost efficiencies. The initiative has sparked concern among some current and former SEC staff and investor-protection advocates, who say active White House involvement risks undermining the commission’s traditional independence. Amanda Fischer of Better Markets called DOGE’s role in rulemaking "outrageous," warning of potential conflicts of interest. Legal scholars noted that Republican commissioners Mark Uyeda and Hester Peirce have already criticized the SPAC and Form PF rules as overly burdensome, suggesting DOGE’s effort could accelerate changes the agency’s leadership might have pursued anyway.