NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday said it was asking Congress to keep its budget unchanged next year and its workforce significantly leaner following recent deep staff cuts.

The agency asked for $2.15 billion in funding for the 2026 fiscal year, keeping levels flat from the current amount approved by lawmakers.

The budget request, published on the agency's website on Friday, also said the SEC is seeking a total of 4,101 full-time positions versus the current year's congressionally approved level of 4,548, a drop of 9.8%.

Paul Atkins, the agency's chairman, is due to deliver Senate testimony about the budget request on Tuesday.

An agency spokesperson declined to comment beyond the contents of the budget request. The SEC's current fiscal year runs through the end of September.

The annual request shows the agency expects to remain significantly leaner after hundreds of employees left the agency through early-resignation programs.

Wall Street's top regulator saw key divisions lose 15% to 19% of their full-time headcount over the course of several weeks earlier this year. Some 600 staff have taken resignation offers amid President Donald Trump and Elon Musk's efforts to remake the federal workforce.

Keeping its budget flat will give the agency an excess of $100 million in its coffers, the report said.

The SEC said the excess funding may be needed because of a "number of uncertainties", including the potential for Congress to give the regulator responsibilities from a U.S. audit watchdog that may be effectively eliminated.

(Reporting by Chris Prentice and Douglas Gillison; Editing by Tom Hogue)

By Chris Prentice and Douglas Gillison