Among the candidates, Nathan Anonick and Matthew Rowland have previously contributed to the Clarity Act, whereas Kristin Johnson has frequently addressed the rules governing digital assets.
The executive branch put forward four candidates to occupy empty positions on the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, marking the initial set of such selections in about twelve months.
Nathan Anonick, hailing from Virginia, and Matthew Rowland, from the District of Columbia, were put forward as commissioners for the CFTC. Kristin N. Johnson from Michigan and Steven Levine from Maryland were selected as commissioners for the SEC.
These appointments cross party lines, as Anonick and Levine belong to the Republican party, while Johnson and Rowland are Democrats. The Senate Agriculture Committee will review the CFTC candidates, whereas the Senate Banking Committee is tasked with evaluating the SEC candidates.
Backgrounds
Anonick currently functions as legislative counsel to Senator John Boozman, the Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, and previously acted as a chief negotiator for the committee’s segment of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act. Rowland is an attorney at the CFTC who was assigned to the Senate Agriculture Committee and likewise contributed to both the Clarity Act and the agricultural panel’s 2024 cryptocurrency legislation.
In the meantime, Johnson, a former commissioner at the CFTC, concentrated her efforts on digital currencies, oversight of risk, and market soundness. Johnson has frequently discussed cryptocurrency alongside the necessity for oversight regarding crypto custody services, decentralized finance, and artificial intelligence.
Levine’s most recent role was General Counsel and senior advisor within the White House Council of Economic Advisers, following earlier service at the SEC as legal counsel and deputy chief of staff to Commissioner Mark Uyeda.
Levine was chosen to take over the role of Hester Peirce, a prominent supporter of the digital asset sector who directed the agency’s Crypto Task Force and supported Chairman Paul Atkins’ Project Crypto initiative to update securities rules for digital asset advancement and promote the objective of establishing the United States as the global cryptocurrency hub.
Ji Kim, who serves as chief executive officer for the Crypto Council for Innovation, offered congratulations to the candidates via a social media post on X, noting that robust, cross-party representation is vital for crafting lasting regulations that secure financial markets, safeguard investors, and encourage technological progress.
Both the CFTC and SEC will maintain crucial and impactful functions within our financial systems, and collectively these individuals possess an abundance of knowledge and proficiency that will help guarantee sustained American dominance, Kim noted.
Originally published at https://www.theblock.co/news/regulation/2026-11-12-white-house-crypto-picks-sec-cftc-439175.
