This story was updated at 8:03 p.m. EST.
President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission has been a vocal critic of the financial regulator’s recent effort to require companies to disclose their risks from climate change.
Paul Atkins, a Republican whom President George W. Bush named to the SEC in 2002, is best known as an advocate for cryptocurrency since leaving the commission in 2008. He’s also assailed the SEC’s controversial climate-disclosure rule as a burden to corporate America.
Finalized in March under Biden SEC Chair Gary Gensler, the rule would require publicly traded companies to divulge details about the risks that climate change poses to their business. The SEC paused the rule in April amid lawsuits from Republican state attorneys general and a company led by Chris Wright, Trump’s pick for Energy secretary.
