DOJ Alum Kevin Muhlendorf Tapped To Police SEC As Inspector General Ahead of Trump’s Crypto Shift

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is tapping former U.S. Department of Justice attorney Kevin Muhlendorf to be the agency’s new Inspector General, a June 23 press release from the federal regulator shows.

SEC Chair Praises Kevin Muhlendorf’s Watchdog Credentials

According to the Monday press release, the one-time litigation associate at Steptoe & Johnson LLP will take the reins as the SEC’s Inspector General on July 28.

“Kevin has the ideal combination of experience in internal investigations, compliance programs, and law enforcement to hit the ground running as our new Inspector General and ensure our agency’s operations are transparent, efficient, and effective,” said SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins.

“He is a proven leader—and former inspector general—with a reputation for fairness and objectivity, and we’re pleased to welcome someone with his record of accomplishment back to the SEC,” he added.

Having spent the last nine years working largely on securities-focused cases for Wiley Rein LLP in Washington, D.C., Muhlendorf has extensive regulatory experience.

Muhlendorf also previously served as Senior Counsel for the SEC from 2004 to 2010.

“The SEC is genuinely committed to its investor protection mission, and I’m grateful for this opportunity to re-enter government service and help the Commission and its staff pursue that mission with efficiency and integrity while protecting taxpayer resources,” Muhlendorf said.

Crypto Oversight Now in Focus

Muhlendorf’s appointment comes just months after former SEC Chair Gary Gensler resigned amid U.S. President Donald Trump’s return to the Oval Office.

Trump widely campaigned on enacting a crypto-friendly regulatory regime, a stark contrast to Gensler’s regulation-by-enforcement approach to digital assets.

The SEC has since established the Crypto Task Force in order “to draw clear regulatory lines, appropriately distinguish securities from non-securities, craft tailored disclosure frameworks, provide realistic paths to registration for both crypto assets and market intermediaries, ensure that investors have the information necessary to make investment decisions, and make sure that enforcement resources are deployed judiciously.”