Trump Names Bipartisan Slate for SEC and CFTC in First Regulator Picks in a Year

admin · November 13, 2026 · 5 min read

The U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., where the Senate will consider President Trump's bipartisan SEC and CFTC nominees.

President Donald Trump on Thursday sent the Senate four nominations to fill vacant seats at the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission — two Democrats and two Republicans — his first nominations to either agency in about a year, and the first time in his second term that he has named Democrats to the two market regulators.

The slate, posted on the White House website on November 12, would begin to refill two agencies operating well below full strength while they write rules for digital-asset markets and police stock and derivatives trading.

Who Trump picked for the SEC

For the SEC, Trump chose former CFTC Commissioner Kristin N. Johnson, a Democrat from Michigan, for the seat held by Caroline Crenshaw, for a term running to June 5, 2029. His second SEC pick is Steven Levine, a Republican from Maryland, for the seat vacated by Hester Peirce, who led the SEC’s Crypto Task Force before leaving the agency in October. Levine’s term would run to June 5, 2030.

The SEC currently has just two sitting commissioners, Chairman Paul Atkins and Mark Uyeda, both Republicans. If both nominees are confirmed, the commission would have four of its five seats filled.

Who Trump picked for the CFTC

For the CFTC, Trump chose Nathan Anonick, a Republican from Virginia, and Matthew Rowland, a Democrat from Washington, D.C. Anonick works for the Senate Agriculture Committee’s majority staff as legislative counsel to Chairman John Boozman and helped negotiate the committee’s share of the CLARITY Act, the bipartisan bill that would divide crypto oversight between the two agencies. He was nominated for a term ending June 19, 2031.

Rowland is a CFTC attorney detailed to the Agriculture Committee, where he has worked under the panel’s Democratic leaders. He was nominated to finish a term ending April 13, 2028.

CFTC Chairman Mike Selig has been the agency’s only member since December 2025. If both nominees are confirmed, the CFTC would have three of its five seats filled; by law, each commission has five members, with no more than three from one party.

Why the bipartisan picks matter

The move is a notable shift. Trump has so far in his term sought to remove Democrats from independent commissions and had not nominated any Democrats to the SEC or CFTC until now, according to CoinDesk. Johnson and Rowland are the first Democrats he has named to either agency in his second term.

The picks land at a sensitive moment for crypto regulation. The SEC and CFTC are still dividing up the work of bringing digital-asset markets under clearer federal rules, and the CLARITY Act would split oversight based on whether a digital asset counts as a security or a commodity. Both CFTC nominees helped shape that bill.

The SEC has meanwhile been operating under an amended quorum rule that took effect on October 2, letting its two remaining Republican commissioners keep voting on rules and enforcement actions.

What happens next

The Senate Banking Committee handles the SEC pair and the Agriculture Committee the CFTC pair. Banking has set a hearing on the SEC nominees for Thursday, November 19, a sign leaders plan to move quickly.

The clock is tight. The Senate is in its lame-duck session after last week’s midterm elections, in which Democrats flipped the chamber and take the gavel in January. The current Congress ends on January 3, and any nominee not confirmed by then could have to start the process over.

Selig welcomed Anonick and Rowland as “two strong bipartisan picks.” Ji Kim, who leads the Crypto Council for Innovation, congratulated all four nominees and said strong bipartisan representation is essential to writing durable rules for digital assets.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who are the four SEC and CFTC nominees?

Kristin N. Johnson (Democrat) and Steven Levine (Republican) to the SEC; Nathan Anonick (Republican) and Matthew Rowland (Democrat) to the CFTC. Each still needs Senate confirmation.

Why is this the first bipartisan slate in a year?

Trump had sent no nominations to either agency in about a year, and had named no Democrats to either one during his second term until now. The slate gives each agency one Republican and one Democrat.

What is the CLARITY Act?

The bipartisan market-structure bill that would split crypto oversight between the SEC and the CFTC, based on whether a digital asset qualifies as a security or a commodity. Both CFTC nominees worked on it on the Senate Agriculture Committee’s staff.

When will the Senate act on the nominations?

The Senate Banking Committee has scheduled a hearing on the SEC nominees for November 19; no hearing date has been reported yet for the CFTC nominees. With Democrats taking the Senate in January, the current majority has a narrow window to confirm all four before Congress ends on January 3.

The nominations do not settle any policy question by themselves. But if confirmed, they would restore bipartisan staffing to the two agencies that will decide how America’s stock, derivatives and crypto markets are regulated in the years ahead.