Long & Winding Road – New CFTC Chair

Former Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Commissioner Brian Quintenz was nominated to be the CFTC Chair in February 2025. However, his nomination was officially withdrawn on September 30, 2025. Former Commissioner Quintenz’s withdrawal marks the end of a stunning turn of events for the CFTC Chair nominee, who once appeared to be a lock for confirmation. Since Inauguration Day, the CFTC has been led by Acting Chair Caroline Pham, who is not expected to remain, as she has announced plans to leave the CFTC upon the confirmation of her successor. In late October 2025, President Donald Trump chose a top attorney on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s cryptocurrency task force to be the new chair of the CFTC. In an October 25, 2025, post on X, Michael Selig confirmed news reports that he was being nominated to lead the CFTC, saying he wanted to “help the president make the United States the crypto capital of the world.” Selig has been at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission since March, but he is no stranger to the CFTC, having joined the agency in 2014 as a law clerk to then-Commissioner J. Christopher Giancarlo, who later was chair of the agency during Trump’s first administration.