Ex-CFTC chair leaves without replacement pick from Trump

Rostin Behnam, who chaired the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) from 2021 to 2025, has stepped down as commissioner for the financial regulator without a potential replacement nomination from President Donald Trump.

In an X post, Behnam said Feb. 7 would be his last day at the CFTC after roughly eight years serving separately as a commissioner and the regulator’s chair. On Jan. 7, Behnam announced his departure as chair would be on the same day as Trump’s inauguration, paving the way for the CFTC to elect Caroline Pham as acting chair.

Since taking office on Jan. 20, Trump has not announced any potential pick to replace Behnam, leaving the five-commissioner panel split between Republicans and Democrats. Reports have suggested that the US president was considering nominating former CFTC commissioner Brian Quintenz, but the White House had made no official announcement at the time of publication.

Under Chair Pham, who has been in charge of the agency for less than 30 days, the CFTC announced it was ending its practice of regulation by enforcement and restructuring its priorities. The commission has previously filed lawsuits against crypto firms, including Binance, Uniswap Labs and Celsius Network.