U.S. President Donald Trump put forward four candidates for prospective positions at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission, marking his initial selections for these roles since 2025.
As stated on the White House website, Trump is putting forward attorney Steven Levine and former CFTC Commissioner Kristin Johnson for the SEC, alongside Matthew Rowland and Nathan Anonick for the CFTC, which will address vacant positions across both regulatory bodies. Every single one of these appointments requires approval from the Senate.
Although both the CFTC and SEC are vital in supervising distinct sectors of the cryptocurrency landscape and the broader American financial system, they have operated with a reduced number of commissioners ever since Trump assumed the presidency in January 2025. Currently, Commissioner Mark Uyeda and Chairman Paul Atkins lead the SEC, whereas former Commissioner Hester Peirce departed the organization a few weeks ago following the expiration of her term.
At present, Mike Selig remains the only commissioner at the CFTC serving as Chairman. Each commission is permitted a maximum of five members and has historically maintained a bipartisan makeup.
The appointments announced on Thursday seem to cross party lines; LinkedIn records indicate that Anonick is a member of the majority staff for the Senate Agriculture Committee, and Rowland serves as an attorney at the CFTC—having previously worked on Johnson’s team—while detailed to the Agriculture Committee.
Identified as a Democrat, Johnson held a seat as a CFTC commissioner up until the previous year, whereas Levine functions as a Republican former SEC counselor and Department of Labor official who has additionally worked with the White House Council on Economic Affairs and the George Washington University Law School. This decision stands out because Trump has generally worked to push Democrats off commissions throughout his presidency, refraining from appointing any Democrats to the SEC or CFTC until this point.
Prior to a full Senate vote, the Senate Banking Committee must greenlight the SEC picks, while the Senate Agriculture Committee must clear the CFTC candidates. Following elections last week, the Senate is currently working through its lame duck period.
UPDATE (Nov. 12, 2026, 23:20 UTC): Adds additional detail.
Originally published at https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2026/11/12/u-s-president-names-cftc-sec-nominees-for-first-time-in-a-year.
