Democratic senators question CFTC staffing cuts in Chicago enforcement office
Five Democratic senators are demanding clarity from the nation’s top derivatives regulator after learning that its Chicago enforcement team may have been dramatically reduced.
In a letter issued Thursday (February 26) to Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Michael Selig, Sens. Richard J. Durbin, Amy Klobuchar, Cory A. Booker, Raphael Warnock and Adam B. Schiff said they are “deeply concerned” that the agency’s Central Regional Office in Chicago has shrunk from 20 enforcement attorneys to none.
They warned that if those numbers are correct, the pullback would undercut one of the CFTC’s most critical enforcement centers.
Congress created the CFTC in 1974 to police U.S. derivatives markets. Its Division of Enforcement brings cases involving fraud, insider trading, market manipulation and false reporting under the Commodity Exchange Act. For years, the Chicago office has been at the heart of that effort, handling complex investigations tied to futures, commodities and, more recently, crypto markets.
The team reportedly helped deliver some of the agency’s most eye-catching results. In 2023, the CFTC won a $2.7 billion penalty against Binance along with a $150 million civil penalty against its CEO. A year later, it ordered the collapsed crypto exchange FTX to pay $12.7 billion in relief to victims. The senators pointed to those outcomes as proof that seasoned trial lawyers matter.
Lawmakers press for CFTC staffing details in Chicago
According to the letter, departures, retirements and internal transfers have left the Chicago enforcement branch without any trial attorneys. The lawmakers said overall staffing in the Division of Enforcement has fallen by at least 25 percent, and possibly more.
The drop in personnel has coincided with a steep decline in new cases. During fiscal year 2025, the CFTC filed 13 enforcement actions and recovered less than $10 million. This is in sharp contrast to 58 actions yielding $17.1 billion in fiscal year 2024 and 96 actions producing $4.3 billion in fiscal year 2023.
The senators also gave a blunt warning from a former CFTC attorney who said, “If I was a different person, I would launch a crypto scam right now, because there’s no cops on the beat.” Whether or not one agrees with that characterization, they wrote, it reiterates concerns about diminished enforcement presence.
At his confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, Selig described the CFTC as “a cop on the beat” and said it is “vitally important” that the agency has the resources it needs to do its job.
His tenure has already drawn scrutiny beyond staffing. The agency recently withdrew a proposed ban on certain event-based contracts tied to prediction markets, including political contests. Selig has also faced pointed questions from senators about sports prediction markets and whether they fall within the CFTC’s remit. The commission has weighed in on litigation involving prediction market operator Kalshi, including matters connected to Nevada regulators, while other senators have urged a crackdown on contracts linked to events such as deaths.
Against that backdrop, the five Democrats are asking how many enforcement attorneys are stationed in each regional office, whether Chicago vacancies will be filled and on what timeline, how current staffing compares with fiscal year 2024 levels, and whether additional funding has been requested or resources shifted to preserve enforcement strength.
They gave Selig until March 12, 2026 to respond, saying he is uniquely positioned to restore the Division of Enforcement and protect market integrity.
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