The White House is set to nominate Commodity Futures Trading Commission's Kristin Johnson to a top position at the U.S. Treasury Department, Bloomberg reported on Thursday.
The Democratic CFTC Commissioner is up for a spot as the Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions after receiving support last week from House Financial Services Committee Ranking Democrat Maxine Waters of California.
The announcement of Johnson's nomination is expected to be made public soon, Bloomberg reported citing people who asked for anonymity to speak on the topic. Johnson did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Block.
The Treasury's Office of Financial Institutions helps form policy, with a focus on cybersecurity, and the assistant secretary oversees a policy portfolio that includes banks, credit unions, insurance and consumer protection.
The position was previously held by Graham Steele, who left the role in January, according to multiple news reports. In a speech earlier that month, Steele urged U.S. lawmakers to develop standards to regulate crypto.
Last week, Waters sent a letter to President Joe Biden pressing him to nominate Johnson, a Democrat, to serve as the Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions at the Treasury Department.
Waters said Johnson has provided the committee with her expertise on a number of topics, from data privacy to AI to digital assets.
"In her role as CFTC Commissioner, Commissioner Johnson has prioritized maintaining the integrity of our financial markets," Waters said. "She has pushed the Commission to adopt rigorous capital, collateral, and margin standards. Commissioner Johnson is also leading the CFTC's work on artificial intelligence (AI) and encouraging the Commission to carefully evaluate whether existing regulation is fit-for-purpose or new regulation is required."
