CFTC’s Tarbert Says He’ll Step Down as Chairman Early in 2021

Heath Tarbert, a Republican lawyer who has led the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman since last year, is planning to step down in January, he said in a statement Thursday.

Tarbert, 44, joined the nation’s main derivatives regulator in July 2019 after serving as a senior official in President Donald Trump’s Treasury Department. He said in the statement that his time at the agency had been “an extraordinary privilege.” He didn’t say what he plans to do next.

A former partner at law firm Allen & Overy, Tarbert as CFTC chief tried to raise the agency’s profile ...