CFTC’s Johnson to Leave Next Week, Bringing Agency to One Member

Democratic Commissioner Kristin Johnson will leave the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Sept. 3, bringing the agency under the sole leadership of Acting Chairman Caroline Pham.

In a farewell press release, Johnson called for the CFTC to receive more resources to support an expanded mission regulating digital assets, on top of its traditional market surveillance and enforcement. Lawmakers are working on legislation that would potentially hand the agency greater authority to directly regulate the crypto industry.

“In a moment when such significant changes to markets and market structure are contemplated, I am concerned that the expert staff at the Commission receive the support and investments needed to be successful,” Johnson said on Tuesday.

The CFTC has overseen a head count reduction of at least 15% since the beginning of the Trump administration and its enforcement wing may see even greater staffing cuts, according to the agency’s fiscal 2026 budget request. Congress hasn’t clarified whether it intends to give the agency more resources to take on the lift of drafting new crypto regulations and potential enforcement actions.

Read More: US Futures Regulator in Disarray as Crypto Duties Loom

The prediction markets industry is also reshaping the CFTC’s often staid approach to regulation, with firms like Kalshi and Crypto.com prompting the agency to oversee retail markets where traders can wager on everything from election outcomes to sporting events.

Johnson previously served as a professor at Emory University Law School and joined the agency in 2022 after being nominated by then President Joe Biden. Her departure leaves the typically five-member, bipartisan agency with just Pham after two commissioners and the ex-chairman, a Democrat, left their roles earlier this year.

Pham, a Republican who also joined the commission in 2022, has said she will leave the agency once President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the regulator, Brian Quintenz, takes the helm.

Quintenz’s confirmation process has been stymied by last-minute delays, with votes to advance his nomination out of committee having been postponed twice. Before the latest vote delay in July, crypto billionaire Tyler Winklevoss expressed concerns about Quintenz to the White House.

The White House has since reiterated support for Quintenz and earlier this month several crypto trade groups sent a letter to Trump backing him.

To contact the reporters on this story:
Lydia Beyoud in Washington at lbeyoud2@bloomberg.net;
Nicola M White in Washington at nicwhite@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Megan Howard at mhoward70@bloomberg.net

Anthony Aarons

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