Back in July, the financial reform community was extremely upset at Joe Biden for foot-dragging on naming regulatory appointments. Among the multiple vacancies was a seat on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which regulates the multitrillion-dollar derivatives market. At the time, this vacancy led to an equal number of Republicans and Democrats on the commission, creating stalemates on any aggressive rulemaking. The chair, former Debbie Stabenow staffer Rostin Behnam, was only serving in an acting capacity; no permanent chair had been announced.
Since that time, reformers have been somewhat mollified. There have been a couple of good appointments, like former Sherrod Brown staffer Graham Steele as Treasury Department assistant secretary for financial institutions, and Consumer Federation of America director Barbara Roper as a key adviser to the Securities and Exchange Commission. And the CFTC situation belatedly took care of itself in the short term. Republican commissioner and crypto enthusiast Brian Quintenz abruptly decided to step down at the end of August, presumably because of a looming job offer.
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