Less than a month after being handpicked and elected by President Donald Trump to be the new Chairman of the U.S Security and Exchange Commission, Paul Atkin is now forced to explain the SEC's sudden decision to drop Tron founder Justin Sun's case was an order by president Trump.

Atkin was standing in front of the House of Appropriations committee on Tuesday, where he was grilled by democratic lawmakers on how the SEC has drastically rewritten the rule book since Atkin took over the office in April.

Sun-Trump Friendship

During the congressional hearing, Democratic Representative Glenn Ivey raised concerns about the SEC's decision to pause its investigation of Tron founder, Justin Sun.

Ivey pointed out the close connection between Sun and Trump, and speculated the possibility that the SEC's choice to drop all of its charges on Sun could be somehow related to the President.

Ivey also points to Sun's 30 million token purchase from World Liberty Financial, a crypto firm linked to Trump and his family.

"This frankly to me, smells very bad. My hope would be that the SEC would be investigating that piece."

But Atkins clarified that the Sun case still remains active, and that the SEC hasn't fully dropped the case. Atkins also reiterated that, under currency policy, memecoin are not considered securities.

Sun hasn't been shy with his support for Trump's digital assets, posting on X that he is among the top 220 holders of the tokens and will be attending the gala dinner hosted for top supporters.

"Honored to support @POTUS and grateful for the invitation from @GetTrumpMemes to attend President Trump's Gala Dinner as his Top Fan!"

A Shift of Priorities

Since taking over the Atkin's takeover, the SEC has drastically shifted its stance on crypto. In his testimony, Atkins reaffirmed his commitment towards crypto regulatory issues rather than enforcement.

"A key priority of my chairmanship will be to develop a rational regulatory framework from crypto asset markets that establishes clear rules of the road for the insurance, custody, and trading of crypto assets while continuing to discourage bad actors from violating the law."

The comments came just as the Senate advanced the GENIUS Act, a bill seeking to establish a regulatory framework for stablecoins, showing how legislative efforts may soon shape the SEC's directions.

Atkins also confirmed that the SEC’s Crypto Task Force, led by Commissioner Hester Peirce, is preparing its first report, expected within the next few months, which could offer further guidance for the industry.