U.S. Regulatory Week Ahead

Written By Francis Kelly

Cabinet Nominees Confirmation Hearings All Week, Will Next Week Be the Week Trump Nominates All the Regulators?  And the FDIC Chair and CFTC Chairs Sing Their Swan Songs

Washington is bracing for big changes this week before President-elect Trump is sworn into office next Monday.  Congress gets busy with committee organizational meetings this week as the US Senate holds confirmation hearings for most of Trump’s nominees (the full hearing schedule is below).  We expect the Senate to move quickly on a number of the nominations, with the strong likelihood that Treasury Secretary-nominee Scott Bessent and Secretary of State-nominee Marco Rubio will be confirmed and ready to be sworn in on Inauguration Day.

Subcommittee assignments were announced this past week in both the House Financial Services Committee and Senate Banking Committee.  Of note is that the Senate Banking Committee Chair, Senator Tim Scott (R-SC), is creating a new Digital Assets Subcommittee, and Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) is going to chair it.  Recall that Lummis’ home state of Wyoming has arguably been the leading state pushing for crypto for consumer payments.

Over on the House side, Financial Services Committee Chair French Hill (R-AK) is apparently considering creating a new working group on monetary policy, which would appear to be something of a “shadow” oversight group looking at Federal Reserve Board monetary policy – this will be one to watch closely.

Meanwhile, this being the final week of the Biden Administration, most regulators are cleaning out their offices and packing up.  FDIC Chair Martin Gruenberg will be at the Brookings Institution, giving his thoughts and reflections on his long tenure at the agency and the three financial crises he had dealt with.  Let’s see if and how he addresses the ultimate crisis that will likely define his two-decade tenure at the agency:  The allowance of a widespread culture of sexual harassment and other misconduct at the agency under his leadership.  Gruenberg announced seven months ago he would resign because of the scandal, but not until a replacement was confirmed.  He changed his mind after Trump was elected, and now Vice Chair Travis Hill will step in as acting chair.  While Hill has not been nominated for the chair, he is giving a speech this week, during which he will likely lay out an interim agenda.

Gruenberg is not the only one giving a final goodbye talk this week: CFTC Chair Rostin Behnam will participate in a fireside chat at the CfC St. Moritz 2025 Conference in Switzerland.  The conference – for institutional investors, family offices, and large funds – should be quite interesting, nicely nestled in the spectacular snow-covered Alps.

Finally, we are picking up chatter from the Trump Transition team that President-elect Trump may announce his picks for the top regulatory spots.  So far, he has only named Paul Atkins for SEC Chair.  More on that as we learn it.

Below is what else we are watching in the Washington financial regulatory world this coming week:

U.S. Congressional Hearings 

U.S. Senate

  • Thursday, January 16, 10:00 a.m. – The Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing on the nomination of Eric Scott Turner to be Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

 

House of Representatives

  • Tuesday, January 14, 10:00 a.m. – The House Ways and Means Committee holds a meeting to organize for the 119th Congress.  They will then hold a hearing entitled “The Need to Make Permanent the Trump Tax Cuts for Working Families.”

 

Federal Department & Regulatory Agency Meetings & Events

Federal Reserve Board and Federal Reserve Banks

  • There are no significant events scheduled at this time.

 

U.S. Treasury Department

  • There are no significant events scheduled at this time.

 

Department of Commerce

  • There are no significant events scheduled at this time.

 

Department of Housing and Urban Development

  • Thursday, January 16, 8:30 a.m. – Acting Housing and Urban Development Department Secretary Adrianne Todman delivers remarks at the National League of Cities Summit which is entitled “The Moment for Housing is Now.”

 

Securities and Exchange Commission

  • Thursday, January 16, 2:00 p.m. – The SEC holds a Closed Meeting.

 

Commodities Futures Trading Commission

  • Wednesday, January 15, 1:30 p.m. (CET/Switzerland) – CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam will participate in a fireside chat at the CfC St. Moritz 2025 Conference.

 

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

 

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

  • There are no significant events scheduled at this time.

 

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

  • There are no significant events scheduled at this time.

 

National Credit Union Administration

 

FINRA

  • There are no significant events scheduled at this time.

 

Federal Trade Commission & Department of Justice Antitrust Division

  • Wednesday, January 16, 1:00 p.m. – The FTC holds a Closed Meeting.

 

Farm Credit Administration

  • There are no significant events scheduled at this time.

 

Farm Credit Insurance Corporation

  • There are no significant events scheduled at this time.

 

Small Business Administration

  • There are no significant events scheduled at this time.

 

International Monetary Fund & World Bank

  • There are no significant events scheduled at this time.

 

North American Securities Administrators Association

  • There are no significant events scheduled at this time.

 

 

 

Trade Associations & Think Tank Events

Trade Associations

 

Think Tanks and Other Events

 

 

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Trump Cabinet Confirmation Hearings Schedule

Tuesday, January 14th

  • Senate Armed Services Committee: Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Defense

  • Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee: Doug Burgum, Secretary of the Interior

  • Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs: Doug Collins, Secretary of Veterans Affairs

Wednesday, January 15th

  • Senate Agriculture Committee: Brooke Rollins, Secretary of Agriculture

  • Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee: Chris Wright, Secretary of Energy

  • Senate Judiciary Committee: Pam Bondi, Attorney General

  • Senate Environment and Public Works Committee: Lee Zeldin, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (this could be moved to Thursday, 1/16)

  • Senate Foreign Relations Committee: Marco Rubio, Secretary of State

  • Senate Intelligence Committee: John Ratcliffe, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency

  • Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs (Morning): Kristi Noem, Homeland Security Secretary

  • Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs (Afternoon): Russell Vought, Office of Management and Budget Director

Thursday, January 16th

  • Senate Finance Committee: Scott Bessent, Secretary of the Treasury

  • Senate Foreign Relations Committee: Elise Stefanik, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations 

Monday, January 27th

  • DATE TO BE CONFIRMED: Senate Finance Committee: Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services

Francis Kelly
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