WASHINGTON, July 21 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's deep staffing cuts at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission could hamper its ability to enforce the law and should be investigated by the congressional watchdog agency, a top Senate Democrat said on Tuesday.
In a letter to the Government Accountability Office, Elizabeth Warren, the No. 2 member of the Senate Banking Committee, said the CFTC's workforce had fallen about 25% since the start of last year, coinciding with a sharp drop in enforcement
actions, and cited recent media coverage that said CFTC-regulated industries benefited from the firings.
The GAO is Congress' independent auditing and investigations arm.
"Given reasonable concerns that staffing cuts may have a material impact on the CFTC’s ability to carry out its mandate as required by current law, I request that the GAO thoroughly reviews the staffing cuts," Warren wrote.
The agency has said in recent months that it expects to increase its workforce and has sufficient resources to meet its obligations, thanks in part to the use of artificial intelligence.
A GAO representative said the agency had received the letter and was evaluating it. The CFTC did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.
The CFTC's regulatory mandate is expanding substantially as it asserts exclusive regulatory authority over soaring prediction markets and is set to receive primary responsibility for cryptocurrencies should Congress adopt pending legislation.
(Reporting by Douglas Gillison in Washington; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Aurora Ellis)
