U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Caroline Pham, the Republican commissioner who just took over the agency as President Donald Trump returned to the White House, ushered out many of the agency’s top officials under predecessor Rostin Behnam, the Democrat who’d been appointed by Joe Biden.
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.
Notably, Harry Jung, who joined the CFTC in 2023 as a senior policy advisor to Pham, will lead the agency’s engagement with the crypto industry. He’s been tapped for an elevated role as the CFTC’s new acting chief of staff.
Pham announced the departure of an extensive list of senior officials, including the agency’s general council and the heads of its enforcement, public affairs, clearing and risk, market oversight and market participants divisions. Also exiting are the head of the office of international affairs and the department that oversees legislative affairs – 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 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.