Senate Ag approves Selig for CFTC, no action on Smith

The Senate Agriculture Committee on Thursday approved President Trump’s  nomination of Michael Selig to be chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The vote was 12 to 11. At the urging of Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., the ranking member on the Senate Agriculture Committee, all committee Democrats voted against Selig.

Klobuchar said her opposition was not a statement on Selig, but because she wants Trump to nominate a full slate of nominees for the CFTC, including the two Democratic slots on the commission. The commission normally has five members, with no more than three members of one party. At present the only member of the commission is Caroline Pham, a Republican who is the acting chair. Pham has said she will step down as soon as Selig is confirmed. The committee was scheduled to vote on Trump’s nomination of Glen Smith to be Agriculture undersecretary for rural development, but that vote was postponed. A committee spokesperson said it was due to paperwork issues. Smith is a member of the Farm Credit Administration board. Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman, R-Ark., told The Hagstrom Report that he expects the Senate to consider a group of nominations, including those approved by the Agriculture committee, in December. 

–The Hagstrom Report