President Trump on Thursday nominated four commissioners to the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, including his first Democratic picks for the two powerful financial regulators.
For the SEC, Trump tapped Democrat Kristin Johnson of Michigan and Republican Steven Levine of Maryland. Johnson, a former CFTC commissioner appointed by then-President Biden, would fill the seat once held by Caroline Crenshaw, with a term ending in 2029. Levine, who previously served as counsel and deputy chief of staff to SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda and as general counsel at the White House Council of Economic Advisers, would take the seat vacated by Hester Peirce, with a term running through 2030.
For the CFTC, Trump nominated Democrat Matthew Rowland of Washington, D.C., to serve the remainder of a term ending in 2028, and Republican Nathan Anonick of Virginia to a term ending in 2031.
All four require Senate confirmation. The Senate Banking Committee handles the SEC picks, while the Senate Agriculture Committee has jurisdiction over CFTC nominees.
CFTC Chairman Mike Selig, the only sitting commissioner at that agency, praised Rowland and Anonick on X as “two strong bipartisan picks,” adding, “I congratulate them on their nominations and look forward to working with each of them upon their confirmation by the US Senate.”
At the SEC, Chairman Paul Atkins and Commissioner Uyeda, both Republicans, are currently the only appointees on what is normally a five-member bipartisan panel.
The timing matters. Republicans are set to lose control of the Senate in January after last week’s midterm defeat, giving the GOP majority a narrow lame-duck window to move the nominees.
The nominations come after months of back-and-forth between the White House and Senate Democrats over the vacancies. In June, 12 Senate Democrats accused the administration of leaving bipartisan seats open at independent agencies. The White House fired back in July with a letter to Majority Leader John Thune and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, saying it had already asked Democrats for names for the SEC and CFTC and received none.
“Democrats have obstructed every civilian nominee, but President Trump has still nominated Democrats to key positions,” White House officials wrote at the time.
Senate Democrats also raised the issue during negotiations over the Clarity Act, a bill that would have set a regulatory framework for digital assets. The Senate failed to advance it earlier this month.
The fight has major implications for the cryptocurrency industry, which has been waiting for clearer rules and for both agencies to have enough commissioners to write them. Johnson’s background at the CFTC included work on digital asset custody and decentralized finance, and Levine is expected to face questions about whether he will continue Peirce’s generally open approach to crypto.
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