U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) said the investigation into the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is needed to ensure the agency can carry out its duties.
Warren’s statement comes after she sent a letter to the U.S. Government Accountability Office to investigate staffing cuts at the CFTC and whether they will impact the agency’s ability to carry out its responsibilities. The move comes after reports that the CFTC reportedly “purged” its staff and rolled back its enforcement activities. Those moves by the CFTC raised concerns the agency wasn’t in a position to oversee the surge in crypto and prediction markets companies.
“The Trump Administration is hellbent on ramming through crypto market structure legislation that would dump massive new responsibilities on the CFTC — all while gutting the very workforce needed to police these markets. You can’t hand the financial cops a bigger beat with fewer officers. We need a thorough investigation including into whether the agency is being gutted at the behest of powerful industry players in crypto and prediction markets,” Warren said.
CFTC staffing has fallen by 25 percent, officials said, and the agency is reportedly still offering buyouts and early retirement packages. The staffing cuts have been accompanied by a steep decline in the agency’s enforcement actions, Warren said in her letter. According to Reuters, the agency brought 58 enforcement actions and secured more than $17.1 billion in monetary relief in FY 2024, but has brought just 11 enforcement actions since Jan. 2025, and obtained less than $1 billion in monetary relief.
Warren has asked the GAO to examine the extent and nature of CFTC’s workforce reductions, the impact those reductions will have on the commission’s ability to fulfill its responsibilities and whether staffing losses have affected the agency’s enforcement capabilities.