Vote on Trump’s CFTC Chair Pick Could Happen Today

Update (Dec. 11 at 7:35 pm UTC): This article has been updated to include a Thursday policy announcement from Caroline Pham.

The top Republican on the Senate Agriculture Committee said the full chamber could vote on US President Donald Trump’s pick to chair the Commodity Futures Trading Commission “maybe as soon as this afternoon.”

In a prepared statement for a Thursday hearing on CFTC reauthorization, Committee Chair Glenn Thompson said the Senate could vote on Michael Selig’s nomination to chair the agency on Thursday. The potential vote would come just a few weeks after the Agriculture Committee advanced Selig’s nomination to the full chamber, along partisan lines. 

According to the Senate’s calendar of business, a vote on Selig’s nomination did not appear on the schedule for Thursday. The chamber is expected to break for the holidays on Dec. 22, giving lawmakers a limited window to confirm the prospective CFTC chair.

Selig, whom Trump nominated as CFTC chair in November following the withdrawal of his former pick, Brian Quintenz, faced lawmakers in a November hearing. The prospective chair said it was “vitally important that [the CFTC] have a cop on the beat” for addressing crypto regulation and enforcement.

Related: Crypto industry groups weigh in on CFTC’s future after key withdrawal

Acting CFTC Chair Caroline Pham has been the sole commissioner at the financial regulator for months, following the resignation or departure of every member of its leadership due to their terms expiring. Pham is also expected to leave once the Senate confirms a replacement chair, potentially leaving Selig as the sole member. 

Pham is still pushing for crypto in her final days

Although it’s unclear when Pham may leave the CFTC, the acting chair has continued to push the Trump administration’s agenda on digital assets by advocating for policies that favor the industry and bringing executives in closer.

On Thursday, the acting chair said she planned to withdraw the CFTC’s “outdated” guidance on digital assets, claiming it “penalizes the crypto industry and stifles innovation.”