Heath Tarbert

Tarbert was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, where he attended Calvert Hall College High School, a private Catholic preparatory school. While in high school, he became an Eagle Scout.[2][3]

The first in his family to go away to college, he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in accounting and international business in 1998 from Mount St. Mary's University. He then attended University of Pennsylvania Law School, receiving a Juris Doctor in 2001 and a Doctor of Juridical Science in 2002. Tarbert later obtained a Master of Studies and a Doctor of Philosophy in comparative law from Oxford University in 2005, where he was a Thouron Scholar.[4][5][6]

On April 4, 2017, the White House nominated Tarbert to become Assistant Secretary for International Markets and Development. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on September 27, 2017, by a vote of 87–8 and was sworn in on October 10, 2017.[13] In April 2019, he was designated acting Under Secretary for International Affairs, following David Malpass becoming president of the World Bank Group.[1]

As acting Under Secretary, Tarbert was charged with advancing U.S. interests in multilateral organizations on financial stability and regulatory issues, while promoting growth, negotiating trade agreements, and advocating for standards that level the playing field for U.S. firms. He led the U.S. delegation at the G-7 and G-20 Finance Ministers’ and Central Bank Governors’ Deputies Meetings. Tarbert was also a member of the Financial Stability Board (FSB) and served on FSB's Steering Committee and all three of its Standing Committees. He co-chaired the U.S.-EU Financial Regulatory Forum and the U.S.-UK Financial Regulatory Working Group, both of which focus on enhancing financial regulatory cooperation with key counterparts and advancing U.S. economic interests.[1]

Tarbert also served as policy chair of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which seeks to promote U.S. investments while protecting national security. In this role, Tarbert was a key architect of the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (FIRRMA), which passed Congress with bipartisan support in August 2018.[14]

On January 9, 2019, the White House nominated Tarbert to serve as the 14th Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.[16] A coalition of agricultural associations endorsed[17] Tarbert's nomination shortly before his confirmation hearing.[18] He was then unanimously voice voted out of the Senate Agriculture Committee on April 1, 2019.[19] On June 5, 2019, the United States Senate voted 85–9 to confirm Tarbert as a commissioner for a term ending April 13, 2024, and on the same day voted 84–9 to confirm him as chairman.[20] Tarbert was sworn in on July 15, 2019 by Judge Douglas H. Ginsburg of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.[21]

In his role as chairman, Tarbert served as the CFTC's chief executive, overseeing the agency's approximately 1,000 employees and contractors across its offices in Washington, DC, Chicago, IL, New York, NY, and Kansas City, MO.[22] As chairman, Tarbert also served as one of ten voting members of the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC). On June 9, 2020, Tarbert was elected vice-chair of the board of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO).[23]

Upon taking office, Tarbert sought to position the agency as an advocate for Main Street interests and American free enterprise. Writing in a July 2019 op-ed in FoxBusiness.com, Tarbert said the agency "serves as a guardian of our free enterprise system" and that the markets the agency regulates should "serve the needs of everyday Americans."[24] Tarbert has also reaffirmed the CFTC's historical commitment to agriculture by sponsoring the agency's Agricultural Advisory Committee. In a statement announcing his sponsorship, Tarbert said that, "America's farmers and ranchers are at the heart of the real economy and the markets we regulate."[25] Tarbert worked to revise rules implementing the 2010 Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.[26]

Tarbert presided over a historic period of activity at the agency as its chairman and chief executive. Under his leadership, the Commission held 20 open meetings—more than the previous seven years combined— approving 41 final rules.[27] The agency brought more than 160 enforcement actions on Tarbert's watch, including an agency record 113 actions in fiscal year 2020.[28] Tarbert's chairmanship was also noteworthy for its bipartisanship: of the 41 final rules and 21 proposed rules considered on his watch, 90 percent were advanced on a bipartisan basis.[29] "The partisan divisions in Washington may run deep, but the Commission’s historically collegial atmosphere has continued uninterrupted," Tarbert noted in December 2020.[30]

Following Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 presidential election, Tarbert announced he would resign from the CFTC chairmanship in early 2021 but retain his seat on the Commission.[31][32] He officially stepped down as chairman on January 21, 2021 and was succeeded by Acting Chairman Rostin Behnam.[33][34]

Heath Tarbert is married to Kathryn "Kate" (Komp) Tarbert, whom he met while they both clerked for Judge Ginsburg from 2005 to 2006.[35][36] Together they have two sons.[37]

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