White House seeks 'swift confirmation' of Brian Quintenz as CFTC chairman

PANews reported on July 31st that, according to Bloomberg, the White House reiterated its support for Brian Quintenz, Trump's nominee, after delays in confirming him as chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), sparked speculation about his candidacy. The matter has drawn scrutiny since the Senate Agriculture Committee abruptly canceled its vote on Quintenz's nomination on Monday. A majority of the committee members must approve his nomination before the full Senate can approve it. At the time, a committee spokesperson stated that the White House requested the delay. According to sources familiar with the matter, cryptocurrency billionaire Tyler Winklevoss had urged the White House to halt or delay the confirmation process before the vote was postponed. However, the White House reiterated on Wednesday that Quintenz remains the administration's top choice for the position. Spokesperson Liz Huston stated that Quintenz will help make the United States a cryptocurrency capital and expressed hope for his swift confirmation. After serving as a CFTC commissioner from 2017 to 2021, he served as a senior executive in the cryptocurrency division of venture capital fund a16z and previously served on the board of directors of prediction market platform Kalshi. Quintenz said he would resign from both companies if confirmed.