Emails Spark Delay in CFTC Nominee Quintenz’s Vote

A batch of internal emails tied to Brian Quintenz, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), is drawing fresh scrutiny in Washington just as his confirmation process hits repeated delays.

Private Briefing Request

The messages, first made public by the Substack newsletter The Closing Line, include communication between Kevin Webb, expected to serve as Quintenz’s chief of staff, and the CFTC’s general counsel. 

Webbasked for a private briefing for Quintenz on a number of sensitive topics, including “seriatims in circulation,” “employees on administrative leave,” pending license applications, and “ARRP submissions”. The latter refers to agency restructuring or downsizing proposals. 

“Seriatim” votes refer to decisions made by CFTC commissioners that do not require any official discussions, raising some eyebrows about behind-the-scenes involvement.

Another email, believed to be from Quintenz himself, according to the scope of The Closing Line’s Freedom of Information Act request, inquired about how the agency approved PredictIt’s recent expansion into political wagering. 

The popular US politics-betting platform reached a revised agreement with the CFTC on July 15, which allowed it to resume its operations while dealing with fewer restrictions.

Controversial Ties 

The controversy centers not only on the content of the emails but also on Quintenz’s ongoing connection to Kalshi, a prediction market platform regulated by the CFTC that recently teamed up with Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence xAI company. 

While Quintenz has promised to resign from the company’s board and sell his shares if confirmed, his current position continues to raise concerns regarding potential conflicts of interest.

Senator Cory Booker raised the issue during Quintenz’s nomination hearing last month. “I hope you can appreciate that there will be some real questions about your role,” Booker said, also noting that Kalshi recently brought on Donald Trump Jr. as an advisor.

Timing has only intensified the debate. Just two days after The Closing Line report went live, the Senate Agriculture Committee abruptly pulled its scheduled vote on Quintenz’s nomination, just two hours before it was set to begin. According to Bloomberg, the decision came at the request of the White House.

While it’s unclear whether the blog directly influenced the postponement, the article has made waves on Capitol Hill. Crypto commentator Eleanor Terrett posted on X that the piece was “making the rounds on the Hill and in crypto lobbying circles.”

The White House reportedly still backs Quintenz, but no new date for the vote has been announced.