Heitkamp interviews Massad as CFTC commissioners name Wetjen acting chairman
December 17, 2013 | 05:06 PM
Assistant Treasury Secretary Timothy Massad, President Barack Obama’s nominee to succeed Gary Gensler as chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, is making the rounds of Senate offices as the remaining commissioners named Commissioner Mark Wetjen as acting chairman upon Gensler’s departure at the end of the year.
The Senate Agriculture Committee has not held a confirmation hearing and Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., has said the committee is too busy with the farm bill to hold it right away.
Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., met with Massad this week and said in a news release that she had urged him, if confirmed, to always evaluate the impact potential regulations will have on agriculture producers.
Mark Wetjen
“I thank my colleagues, Commissioners [Bart] Chilton and [Scott] O’Malia, for their support and look forward to working collaboratively to oversee the ongoing implementation of the Dodd-Frank Act and the continuation of the CFTC’s critical mission,” Wetjen said.
“I also would like to thank Chairman Gensler for his leadership of this agency and of the financial reform effort in the aftermath of the financial crisis. I am eager to continue that effort in consultation with my fellow commissioners.”
Born and raised in Dubuque, Iowa, Wetjen received a bachelor’s degree from Creighton University and a law degree from the University of Iowa College of Law.
Wetjen was sworn in as a commissioner of the CFTC on October 25, 2011. Before his CFTC service, he was a senior aide to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., advising him on all financial-services-related matters. Wetjen has also been a lawyer in private practice.
The Senate Agriculture Committee has not held a confirmation hearing and Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., has said the committee is too busy with the farm bill to hold it right away.
Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., met with Massad this week and said in a news release that she had urged him, if confirmed, to always evaluate the impact potential regulations will have on agriculture producers.
Mark Wetjen
“I thank my colleagues, Commissioners [Bart] Chilton and [Scott] O’Malia, for their support and look forward to working collaboratively to oversee the ongoing implementation of the Dodd-Frank Act and the continuation of the CFTC’s critical mission,” Wetjen said.
“I also would like to thank Chairman Gensler for his leadership of this agency and of the financial reform effort in the aftermath of the financial crisis. I am eager to continue that effort in consultation with my fellow commissioners.”
Born and raised in Dubuque, Iowa, Wetjen received a bachelor’s degree from Creighton University and a law degree from the University of Iowa College of Law.
Wetjen was sworn in as a commissioner of the CFTC on October 25, 2011. Before his CFTC service, he was a senior aide to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., advising him on all financial-services-related matters. Wetjen has also been a lawyer in private practice.
