The United States Public Future Trade Commission (CFTC) could have an even stronger republican majority when the president arrives by President Donald Trump, with the announcement on Wednesday that Democratic commissioner Christy Goldsmith Romero will resign after that expected confirmation.
If Trump’s nominated Brian Quintenz, former republican commissioner of the agency, is approved by the United States Senate, the Democrat’s departure will leave Commissioner Kristin Johnson to represent the agency’s minority party. This change of leadership would take place at a particularly significant moment for the agency, when its expected leading role in cryptography is being resolved in Congress and past resistance to the industry is being eliminated with the already active review of CFTC staff.
“History has shown how solid regulation plays a fundamental role in the financial markets of the United States as the envy of the world, and I feel honored to have played a role in promoting US markets and protecting investors and customers,” said Goldsmith Romero in a statement, pointing out that a 23 -year career will end in the federal government that also included prominence roles in the commission of values and exchange commission Treasury of the United States.
Commissioner Johnson refused to discuss the plans of his fellow Democrats, telling Coindesk: “I don’t want to comment on something that is still being developed.”
The interim president of the agency, Caroline Pham, praised the commissioner who came out as “a thought leader in combating fraud and addressing cybersecurity in new technologies such as AI and the block chain as sponsor of the CFTC Technology Advisory Committee”, in a statement.
Goldsmith Romero’s federal professional career, indicated as the first LGBTQ+ commissioner in the CFTC, changed significantly after Trump’s victory, because he had previously been the election of President Joe Biden to direct the Federal Deposit Insurance Commission, although the Senate never voted in his nomination.
Update (February 26, 2025, 21:00 UTC): Add details about the end of the Goldsmith Romero term.
