U.S. Financial Regulatory Week Ahead
The Treasury Deputy Secretary Quits, A Fed Governor May Be About to Be Fired, The SEC Gets a Marine, Fed Governor Waller Will Give a Speech, and Otherwise, It’s a Dead Quiet Week Ahead
August 25 - 29, 2025
The Washington Augusts of years past no longer exist – remember those days of high temperatures and sauna-like humidity, a tomb-quiet downtown, long weekends at the beach, and no major news headlines?
As this past week showed, those days are gone as this past week showed. In the last five days, we saw the Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, Michael Faulkender, unexpectedly resign after five months on the job, a well-respected Federal Reserve Governor, Lisa Cook, facing a pretty good chance of being fired by President Trump for cause (supposed mortgage fraud after Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte somehow came across the documents and sent them to the Justice Department), and the Securities and Exchange Commission got a new Director of Enforcement, Meg Ryan, who is a former senior U.S. Marine Corps Judge Advocate (which my late father, who was a US Marine Corps Colonel, would surely shout “Oorah!” at the news of her appointment.)
We suspect there will be a legal battle over whether President Trump can actually fire Fed Governor Cook, but it is also likely to be a messy fight as she will have to explain how she listed two separate properties as her primary residence on two separate mortgage applications submitted 15 days apart.
We are not quite sure why Deputy Secretary Faulkender is stepping down, but it leaves Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent with the top three roles either empty or with staff serving in acting roles (the Senate has not yet confirmed anyone to serve as Undersecretary for International Affairs or Undersecretary for Domestic Finance).
Looking at the week ahead, Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller will be giving a speech in Miami on the economic outlook, CFTC Acting Chair Caroline Pham is giving a couple of speeches in Tokyo, and the SEC will be holding a Closed Meeting. That’s it. So – theoretically – it should be a very quiet week ahead. But considering how the first three weeks of August have gone, we would not bet on it.
But here’s to hoping for a quiet week ahead, heading into the Labor Day weekend, the end of summer, and the return of Congress on September 2nd. Please let us know if you have any questions.
U.S. Congressional Hearings
U.S. Senate
· The Senate is out of session for the August recess and will return on September 2.
House of Representatives
· The House is out of session for the August recess and will return on September 2.
Federal Department & Regulatory Agency Meetings & Events
Federal Reserve Board and Federal Reserve Banks
· Thursday, August 28, 6:00 p.m. – Federal Reserve Board Governor Christopher J. Waller will give a speech on the economic outlook at the Economic Club of Miami Dinner, Miami, Fla.
U.S. Treasury Department
· There are no significant events scheduled at this time.
Department of Commerce
· There are no significant events scheduled at this time.
Department of Housing and Urban Development
· There are no significant events scheduled at this time.
Securities and Exchange Commission
Thursday, August 28, 2:00 p.m. – The SEC will hold a Closed Meeting.
Commodities Futures Trading Commission
· Tuesday, August 26, 12:55 p.m. (Tokyo) – CFTC Acting Chairman Caroline D. Pham will speak on “Writing the Rules for Cross-Border Web3: Regulatory Framework for Global Digital Assets” and then later participate in a fireside chat, “The Regulatory Reset: America's New Framework for Digital Assets” at Asia’s Leading Web3 Conference.
· Wednesday, August 27, 2:00 p.m. (Tokyo) – CFTC Acting Chairman Caroline D. Pham will speak on “How to Shape the Regulations & Policies for the Next Era of Web3” at the Blockchain Leaders’ Summit Tokyo 2025.
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
· There are no significant events scheduled at this time.
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
· There are no significant events scheduled at this time.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
· There are no significant events scheduled at this time.
FINRA
· There are no significant events scheduled at this time.
National Credit Union Administration
· There are no significant events scheduled at this time.
Federal Trade Commission & Department of Justice Antitrust Division
· There are no significant events scheduled at this time.
Farm Credit Administration
· There are no significant events scheduled at this time.
Farm Credit System Insurance Corporation
· There are no significant events scheduled at this time.
International Monetary Fund & World Bank
· There are no significant events scheduled at this time.
North American Securities Administrators Association
· There are no significant events scheduled at this time.
Small Business Administration
· There are no significant events scheduled at this time.
Trade Associations & Think Tank Events
Trade Associations
· There are no significant events scheduled at this time.
Think Tanks and Other Events
· There are no significant events scheduled at this time.
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