“A series of additional OIT actions, deficiencies, and missed opportunities, including a lack of backups and procedures that failed to consider record retention requirements for capstone officials, exacerbated the situation,” the report stated.
While the SEC did attempt to recover or reconstruct the deleted texts, the OIG concluded that some federal records remain unrecoverable. The office recommended updated policies and procedures governing mobile device management for senior officials. SEC leadership has accepted the findings and provided corrective action plans with timelines.
Gensler, a former Goldman Sachs partner and CFTC chair, led the SEC beginning in 2021 under President Joe Biden. He stepped down in January 2025 following the presidential transition and now teaches at MIT’s Sloan School of Management.
The SEC and Gensler did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
