CFTC Chair to Step Down
Commentary by Steven Lofchie
Rostin Behnam, Chair of the CFTC, will step down from his role on January 20, 2025, with his final day at the Commission set for February 7, 2025.
Mr. Behnam was a President Trump nominated, and President Biden renominated, CFTC Commissioner since 2017, and CFTC Chair since January, 2022.
In a statement, Mr. Behnam reflected on his tenure: "I led the agency with a focus on identifying, assessing, and addressing risks within our regulated markets." He emphasized decisions "anchored in building consensus – strictly within the bounds of the law, and towards establishing appropriate guardrails to minimize disruption."
Commentary
It was expected that the Chairs of the CFTC and the SEC would give up their roles in anticipation of a new administration.
It is notable that, while SEC Chair Gensler will leave that agency on the date of the inauguration, CFTC Behnam intends to stay in his role as Commissioner for a little bit longer (an additional two weeks), preserving the Democratic Commissioners' hold on rulemaking for that short period of time. Presumably, the incoming President will designate one of the two Republican Commissioners as the Acting CFTC Chair. An Acting Chair might be able to prevent any problematic new CFTC rulemaking during that time, even if Republicans are in the minority.
Mr. Behnam described his tenure at the CFTC as one where the CFTC acted "strictly within the bounds of the law." It is possible that he was drawing a contrast with other regulatory agencies, particularly the SEC, which suffered numerous judicial losses for failing to do so.