Caroline Pham, chairwoman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, is a Republican who took over the commission upon President Donald Trump’s return to the White House, replacing her predecessor, Democrat Rostin Behnum, who was appointed by Joe. Many of the committee’s executives resigned. Biden.
The changes, in which each resignation is replaced by an interim official appointed by Pham, will impact the U.S. derivatives regulator’s oversight of cryptocurrencies, as it is poised to play a larger role in the area.
Notably, Harry John, who joined the CFTC in 2023 as Pham’s senior policy advisor, will lead the CFTC’s engagement with the crypto industry. He has been selected for the high-level role of CFTC’s new acting chief of staff.
Mr. Pham announced the resignations of an extensive list of senior officials, including the agency’s General Council and heads of enforcement, public affairs, clearing and risk, market oversight, and market participant departments. Also leaving are the heads of the Department of International Affairs and the department that oversees legislative affairs. Congress is working on a virtual currency bill that could give the CFTC a leading role, making the division overseeing legislative issues a key area for the agency.
“I am pleased to announce a change in the CFTC leadership with the inauguration of a new administration,” Pham said in a statement. “I am grateful for their decades of loyal service to the CFTC, and I am also grateful to the talented CFTC staff who will assume these roles on an interim basis.”
The new acting general counsel (the agency’s top legal official), Megan Tente, Pham’s chief of staff and communications director, Taylor Foy, and Jung have been removed from the Office of the Director’s staff. The Legislature will be run by Nicholas Elliott, who previously advised on policy.
The acting executive director will be Brian Young, a former Justice Department veteran who took over as the CFTC’s whistleblower officer last year.