CFTC Chair Caroline Pham Ushers Out Top Agency Officials in Staff Shake-Up

The staff changes — with each departure replaced by interim officials appointed by Pham — will have implications on cryptocurrency oversight for the U.S. derivatives regulator that's poised to play a bigger role in the field.

Caroline Pham, the Republican commissioner of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), has made several key staff changes at the agency following President Donald Trump's return to the White House.

The changes, which come as the CFTC is set to play a larger role in cryptocurrency oversight, include the departure of several senior officials. Among those leaving are the agency's general counsel, the heads of its enforcement, public affairs, clearing and risk, market oversight and market participants divisions, and the head of the office of international affairs.

The head of the department that oversees legislative affairs is also departing, a key area for the agency as Congress will be working on a crypto bill that could put the CFTC in a starring role.

"I’m pleased to announce CFTC leadership changes with the beginning of the new administration," Pham said in a statement. "I am grateful for their combined many decades of faithful service to the CFTC, and I appreciate our talented CFTC staff who will be assuming these roles on an interim basis."

The new acting general counsel — the agency's top legal official — and Pham's chief of staff and public-affairs director were lifted from the ranks of staff from her commissioner office: Meghan Tente, Taylor Foy and Harry Jung, respectively. Running the legislative office will be Nicholas Elliot, who previously advised her on policy.

The stand-in enforcement director will be Briang Young, a former Department of Justice veteran who took over the CFTC's whistleblower officer last year.