Hunton Retail Law Resource

After more than 40 days of gridlock, Congress appears close to a deal to reopen the federal government. The Senate has reached an agreement in principle on a package of appropriations and continuing resolutions, but both chambers must still complete votes before funding is enacted. A full reopening may take several more days. During the shutdown, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been operating with only a small emergency staff to handle matters posing an immediate threat to markets or investors; the agency’s core review and interpretive functions have been effectively paused. Once funding is restored, the SEC will need several days to recall employees and restart normal operations. The staff will then face a significant backlog of more than 40 days’ worth of filings, enforcement referrals and interpretive requests, along with projects that were pending before the shutdown began.

Navigating the Shutdown

Although the government appears close to a deal to end the shutdown, public retailers navigating capital markets transactions should continue to plan based on the SEC’s current operational guidance. During the lapse in appropriations, EDGAR has remained functional and filings must still be made on time; however, SEC staff cannot review or accelerate registration statements until funding is restored. Issuers with effective shelves or well-known seasoned issuer (WKSI) status can continue to access the markets, as WKSI shelf registration statements are automatically effective upon filing and existing shelves remain valid for takedowns through prospectus supplements.

While the SEC generally works on a first-in, first-out basis, it will take time to return to regular order. It will likely be at least several weeks before review timelines normalize. Despite these operational constraints, the SEC has continued to issue statements clarifying its policy focus and procedural plans, including recent statements on Regulation NMS implementation[1] and security-based swap dealer phase-in thresholds,[2] signaling its intent to resume business promptly once funding is restored.

SEC Recent Focus

While the SEC’s progress has been slowed by the shutdown, we still expect the SEC to maintain its focus on recent priorities such as crypto regulation and streamlining public company disclosure. On September 4, 2025, the SEC released its Spring 2025 Regulatory Agenda[3] under Chairman Atkins, marking a pronounced shift from the prior administration with new priorities focused on deregulation, streamlined disclosures, investor protection, and an emphasis on the crypto market and facilitating capital formation. Chairman Atkins has consistently advocated for “clarity instead of uncertainty” in digital asset regulation, for example, emphasizing the need for well-defined rules governing the issuance, custody, and trading of crypto assets to provide greater certainty to the market and simplifying pathways for raising capital. Retailers may ultimately benefit from the new regulatory playing field.

What to Expect Next

As the shutdown draws toward a possible conclusion, retailers should keep in mind that the SEC will likely face a two-phase process: first, catching up on the backlog of filings and resuming normal review cycles; then shifting into its forward-leaning agenda on topics like digital-asset regulation, market structure reform and disclosure modernization. Exactly when each priority will land remains uncertain, but the Commission’s recent guidance signals that even during the operational pause it is positioning to move its agenda forward.

[1] “Statement Regarding Phase‑In Termination Date for the De Minimis Exception to the Security‑Based Swap Dealer Definition,” U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, October 29, 2025.

[2] “Statement Regarding Minimum Pricing Increments and Access Fee Caps,” U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, October 15, 2025. 

[3] “Spring 2025 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Agenda,” U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, September 4, 2025.