CFTC’s Johnson to Depart, Leaving Just One Commissioner

A Commodity Futures Trading Commission Commissioner, Kristin Johnson, announced that she plans on leaving the agency later this year, marking the third commissioner to depart from the CFTC. With Johnson’s departure, only one voting member will remain at the CFTC.

This announcement comes weeks after Commissioners Summer Mersinger and Christy Goldsmith Romero announced that they intend to leave the agency by the end of the month. As a result of these announcements and the departure of former Chairman Rostin Behnam earlier this year, only acting Chair Caroline Pham remains.

While Pham remains at the CFTC, she does not intend to do so for too much longer, either. Pham has made it known that once Trump’s nominee for CFTC chair, Brian Quintenz, is confirmed, she will immediately leave the agency.

As a result of the CFTC’s significant vacancies, many expect and are preparing for disorder. Sharon Bowen, an ex-CFTC commissioner stated that when she departed the agency in 2017, it was mostly due to her experience under a two-member commission. “Having just two commissioners makes routine business difficult, but makes important policy decisions almost impossible,” Bowen said. “Without a full complement of commissioners to consider the far-reaching implications of our decisions, we are frozen in place while the markets we regulate are moving faster every day.”

However, CFTC spokesperson, Taylor Foy, said in a statement that the agency can still operate and function effectively regardless of its commissioner vacancies. “Vacancies do not impact the commission’s ability to vote on agency matters or the day-to-day work of CFTC divisions,” Foy said, per the report.

 Johnson was most notably nominated during the Biden administration. Now that she has completed her three-year term as commissioner at the CFTC, Johnson believes it is time to step away from the role and pursue new opportunities yet to be specified.

With only Commissioner Pham remaining, there are some legal contentions that may be implicated in a situation in which the CFTC is comprised of one member. Many believe that having one member to set forth an agenda can pose issues under the government’s checks and balances system. However, with Pham’s inevitable departure incoming, it is difficult to see if such contentions will be brought.