By Jarrett Renshaw, Karen Brettell and Michelle Price
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Georgetown University academic Chris Brummer has emerged as the leading candidate to chair the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), according to three people with knowledge of the matter.
The White House is expected to make an announcement on that and other financial regulator roles soon, one of the people said. A White House spokesman and Brummer did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Brummer is currently a Professor and Faculty Director of Georgetown University’s Institute of International Economic Law, where he has researched digital technology, including cryptocurrencies, international finance and, more recently, the scarcity of Black financial regulators.
He was nominated by President Barack Obama to serve as Commissioner at the CFTC, which oversees the swaps and futures markets but his candidacy was subsequently withdrawn by President Trump’s White House.
Reuters reported in December that Heath Tarbert, who was nominated by Trump, planned to step down from the CFTC chair role once Biden announced an acting chair. Democratic CFTC Commissioners Rostin Behnam and Dan Berkovitz have also been in contention to replace Tarbert, Reuters reported.
(Reporting by Michelle Price; Editing by Chris Reese, Kirsten Donovan)
