An article summarized by Axios:

The Trump administration’s SEC has proposed eliminating Rule 206(4)-5, known as the “pay-to-play” rule, which limits investment advisers from providing compensated services to government clients for two years after certain political contributions. The rule was adopted in 2010 to prevent political donations from influencing the awarding of public investment contracts. The SEC says the rule has become overly burdensome and can effectively discourage investment professionals from making political contributions.

SEC Chairman Paul Atkins and other commissioners supporting the proposal argue that the rule creates a strict compliance regime that can punish relatively small or inadvertent donations and has led some firms to prohibit employees from making political contributions altogether. They say existing antifraud, fiduciary-duty and ethics requirements under federal securities law, along with state and local laws, can still address genuine pay-to-play misconduct without the specific SEC rule.

The proposal would fully rescind the rule rather than replace it with a new SEC pay-to-play regulation, and it would also eliminate related recordkeeping requirements. The SEC is accepting public comments for 60 days after the proposal is published in the Federal Register. The agency's proposal says it is seeking feedback on whether existing state, local and federal laws are sufficient to address pay-to-play practices.

For the article: https://www.axios.com/2026/09/08/sec-pay-to-play-private-equity