Trump’s choice for CFTC Chair Caroline Pham names her leadership team

Trump’s choice for CFTC Chair Caroline Pham names her leadership team
Credit: Mark Van Scyoc / Shutterstock

The newly appointed Acting Chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) under Donald Trump’s second presidential administration has initiated a major leadership reshuffle.

Caroline Pham was nominated by Trump and subsequently approved as acting Chair by the regulator’s five members earlier this week. The Senate will then have to approve the permanent Chair of the CFTC, with Pham taking over from Rostin Behnam.

Pham was chosen as CFTC Acting Chair by Donald Trump the day of his inauguration

photo credit: Anna Moneymaker / Shutterstock

As the regulator of futures, swaps, and certain kinds of options, the CFTC is one of the most significant government agencies relating to the US finance, fintech and payments sectors. All of Pham’s appointments represent promotions from within the CFTC’s ranks, while Pham herself served as CFTC Commissioner for two years and was previously Managing Director of Citigroup.

Under Pham, Harry Jung will become Acting Chief of Staff, with responsibility for leading the CFTC’s handlings on crypto, DeFi and other digital assets. This will be a significant appointment given the Trump administration’s generally pro-crypto stance.

Further changes see Meghan Tente appointed Acting General Counsel while several people have been named Acting Directors of various CFTC offices. Taylor Foy has joined the Office of Public Affairs, Nicholas Elliot the Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs, Amanda Olear the Division of Market Oversight, Richard Haynes the Division of Clearing and Risk, Tom Smith the Market Participants Division, Brian Young the Division of Enforcement, and Mauricio Melara the Office of International Affairs.

In a statement, Pham thanked the previous generation of CFTC leadership. She said: “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.”

Pham’s tenure at the CFTC, and that of her leadership appointees, comes at a significant time for the regulator and wider US finance industry. Notably, as stated above, President Trump is an ardent supporter of the crypto sector and there have been hints that the CFTC will gain more responsibility in this area – though crypto is not the only area of significance.

Contract contention

A defining topic for the CFTC, and other financial services watchdogs in the US, is the phenomenon of political event contracts. These financial services products are similar to bets and allow customers to invest money in the outcome of an event – like a US election.

American financial exchange and predictions market Kalshi is the leading provider of political event contracts. It is not the only one though, with fellow US business Robinhood, a fintech firm and trading platform, also offering the products.

A major point of contention regarding political event contracts is whether or not the products can be considered a form of gaming. If so, contracts would be illegal as state gaming laws prohibit gambling on political events.

In Pham’s opinion, as reported by betting industry news outlet SBC Americas, the CFTC can regulate political event contracts. The acting Chair does not consider contracts a form of gaming, which falls under state regulation, not federal.

“The CFTC has a role in regulating event contracts as a market regulator, but it is essential that the CFTC does not encroach upon the prerogatives of states,” Pham remarked.

“An appropriate event contracts proposal would have struck a balance between federal oversight and state autonomy by focusing on the CFTC’s core mandate of promoting market stability and protecting market participants from fraud and abusive practices.”

Political event contracts have been a cause of regulatory arguments in the US over recent years. Kalshi, which as stated above is the leading provider of contracts, has been at loggerheads with the CFTC over the products.

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The regulator blocked Kalahi from offering event contracts in 2023 but was subsequently sued by the company which claimed import authority. A subsequent district court ruling allowed Kalshi to offer contracts ahead of the 2024 presidential election – between Kalshi and Robinhood, the duo processed more than $300m in election contracts.

An oral argument involving the CFTC and Kalshi was held last Friday by the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Of note, Rob Schwartz, who presented the CFTC’s argument, has now been replaced as General Counsel by Tente in Pham’s leadership reshuffle.

Aside from political contracts, sports events contracts are another area Pham’s CFTC can be expected to take action on. Earlier this month, the regulator requested that Crypto.com remove its sports event contract product, launched just a few weeks earlier in December, as it assessed whether the product violated gaming laws.