Trump Nominates Two Democrats, Two Republicans to SEC and CFTC
The White House sent four SEC and CFTC nominees to the Senate on Nov. 12, Trump's first Democratic picks for either agency. Senate Banking set a Nov. 19 hearing for Johnson and Levine; nominations still pending on Jan. 3 go back to the White House.
President Donald Trump has named his first Democrats to the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in his second term. The White House sent the Senate four nominees on Nov. 12, one Democrat and one Republican for each agency. They are also his first picks for either agency in about a year.
The White House list of nominations names Kristin Johnson, a Democrat, and Steven Levine, a Republican, for the SEC. Johnson was a CFTC commissioner from 2022 to 2025 and now teaches law at George Washington University. Levine is a longtime counsel to SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda and most recently served as general counsel and senior adviser at the White House Council of Economic Advisers.
Levine was nominated to the seat left by Hester Peirce, whose term expired, for a term through June 5, 2030. Johnson would take the seat formerly held by Democrat Caroline Crenshaw, for a term ending June 5, 2029.
CFTC picks
For the CFTC, Trump chose Republican Nathan Anonick, lead counsel to Senate Agriculture Chair John Boozman on CFTC and crypto policy. He would fill the seat once held by Rostin Behnam, with a term ending June 19, 2031. Democrat Matthew Rowland, a career CFTC lawyer detailed to the committee, would serve the remainder of Summer Mersinger's term, which expires April 13, 2028.
Both CFTC nominees worked on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act. Rowland previously served on Johnson's staff at the CFTC, per his LinkedIn profile.
Thin commissions
The SEC currently has two members, Chair Paul Atkins and Uyeda. CFTC Chair Mike Selig has been the agency's only commissioner since last December. Both agencies can seat up to five commissioners, no more than three from one party.
If all four nominees are confirmed, the SEC would have three Republicans, one Democrat and one vacancy. The CFTC would have two Republicans, one Democrat and two vacancies. Republicans would keep control of both commissions.
Timing and confirmation
Senate Banking has set a Nov. 19 hearing for Johnson and Levine. Senate Agriculture had not scheduled the CFTC pair. Nominations still pending when the new Congress starts Jan. 3 go back to the White House, and the White House did not say when it expects the Senate to act.
Johnson has been caught by that rule before: her 2024 Treasury nomination went back to the White House when it was still pending as a new Congress began.
The politics have shifted. Democrats swept both chambers in the Nov. 3 midterms, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren is expected to chair Banking when the new Congress is seated in January. The Clarity Act failed a Senate cloture vote 49-50 on Sept. 15 and dies on Jan. 3 unless the lame-duck session revives it.
TD Cowen's Jaret Seiberg said after the election he did not expect Democrats to confirm Trump nominees unless Democratic seats were filled at agencies like the SEC. The slate pairs a Democrat with a Republican at each agency.
What it means for the CFTC's docket
Johnson used her 2025 CFTC farewell speech to warn of "too few guardrails" in prediction markets. That view could matter while the CFTC fights states over those products, including the DOJ and CFTC suit against Arkansas over its case against Kalshi. If confirmations slip past the Senate handover, both agencies could stay short-handed into 2027.
