Elon Musk might be winding down his involvement in DOGE, but tensions are rising fast at the Securities and Exchange Commission – maybe the most important government agency if you’re a small investor.
On The Money has learned that DOGE – aka the Department of Government Efficiency – has commandeered a conference room at SEC headquarters in Washington, DC. Based on what I just discovered, Musk’s minions have their work cut for them.
To date, the SEC hasn’t really felt the wrath of DOGE unlike other departments such as Education. The DOGE office has paper covering its windows, presumably because people like “Big Balls” — the moniker for one of Musk’s cost cutters — haven’t really started cutting stuff, people who have seen it say.
While some staffers have already taken buyouts as part of DOGE’s first wave of cuts, you can see why the White House is proceeding with caution. The SEC’s rep has taken a beating in the past for missing scams like Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme that cost small investors dearly. The last thing President Trump needs is a stock market scandal that develops because DOGE got rid of too many people in the SEC enforcement division.
And yet, according to one SEC insider, a long-time employee who spoke to On The Money on the condition of anonymity, the commission – even its enforcement cops – could use the full DOGE treatment.
Most of the SEC’s 5,000 employees barely came into the office since COVID, maybe one day a week for most staffers, while managers were more frequently in house. Trump has changed some of that, this person said. What he hasn’t changed, at least not yet, is the non-work activities that go down at the commission that detracts from the commission’s central mission.
We’re not talking about SEC staffers downloading porn as they had in the past. Thank God those days are over. These time wasters involve enforcement attorneys gathering for trivia contests. One was called the “Super Amazing Trivia challenge,” a full hour of questioning teams of lawyers on various forms of trivia, according to an email from August 2020 reviewed by On The Money.
I know that’s five years ago, but here’s some more recent versions. In December, SEC management held a “Holiday Cookie Exchange” for the enforcement department right in the middle of the workday, between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. Yes, not during lunch hours. “After the very tasty Key Lime Pie contest, we thought to keep the sweet times rolling with a holiday cookie exchange!” read a Dec. 18, 2024 email to enforcement staffers.
In March the SEC’s enforcement division held an “Ides of March Celebration,” a midday confab where staffers were urged to “drop by for baked goods and teas.” Just last week, the enforcement division held a book swap between 11 am and noon for attorneys who want to enlighten their colleagues on their reading list.
“Please bring a book (or multiple books, if so inclined) and your own mug if you’d like coffee,” read an April 23 email that went to the department.
Ok I know corporate team building exercises can be corny. And you do want people to know and like their colleagues. Trivia contests and book swaps don’t necessarily mean the SEC is overstaffed and wasting tons of money. As one former Wall Street executive who runs a data business told me: “It’s a big organization and they have to motivate people somehow. So, what’s the problem?”
But, as my SEC source there put it, the people at the SEC are supposed to be hardened investigators. They do work on the taxpayer’s dime to unravel complex financial crimes not to swap cookies or books by their favorite author. Plus I’m not sure how this type of team building jibes with the SEC’s mandate to make markets safe and efficient for the average investor.
That is why I asked the SEC for a comment. A spokeswoman declined to comment on the team building antics but added “The SEC is working with DOGE to find cost efficiencies and ensure public funds are being used as effectively as possible.”
