CFTC Chairman Michael Selig in an official portrait

President Trump Sends Bipartisan SEC and CFTC Slate to the Senate

By Isaac • November 12, 2026 7:32 pm • Comments

President Trump has sent the Senate a bipartisan slate for four open seats at the two agencies that will shape the next phase of American crypto regulation.

The White House named Nathan Anonick and Matthew Rowland for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, while Kristin Johnson and Steven Levine were selected for the Securities and Exchange Commission. The formal notice assigns Anonick to a CFTC term ending in June 2031, Rowland to the balance of a term ending in April 2028, Johnson to an SEC term ending in June 2029, and Levine to an SEC term ending in June 2030, putting two Republicans and two Democrats into the Senate confirmation pipeline at the same time.

These are not ceremonial openings. The SEC and CFTC are still dividing up the practical work of bringing digital-asset markets under clearer federal rules.

Trending: DTCC Adds Solana to Its Tokenized-Securities Roadmap for 2027

Every new commissioner can influence how aggressively those rules move, how the agencies coordinate, and whether crypto companies get a workable registration path in the United States.

Anonick, a Republican, was nominated for a CFTC term running through June 2031. Rowland, a Democrat, would finish a term that expires in April 2028.

At the SEC, former CFTC Commissioner Kristin Johnson, a Democrat, was nominated for a term through June 2029. Republican Steven Levine was selected for a term through June 2030.

The notice ties each nominee to a specific vacant seat and unexpired or new term, making this a concrete staffing move rather than a policy preview. All four nominations now move to the Senate, where the relevant committees can hold hearings before any final confirmation vote.

CoinDesk noted that these are the administration’s first nominations to either commission in roughly a year. That timing matters because both agencies have been operating with open seats while major crypto-market-structure questions remain unresolved.

CFTC Chairman Mike Selig welcomed the two commission picks as strong bipartisan nominees and said he looked forward to working with them after Senate confirmation.

The CFTC is pushing toward a federal registration option for crypto exchanges, an approach designed to bring trading platforms under familiar market safeguards without forcing activity offshore. The SEC, meanwhile, remains central to token offerings, exchange rules, custody, and the boundary between securities and commodities.

Selig made the case for a domestic framework late last month, arguing that American regulation should protect markets while keeping innovation at home.

The nominations do not settle any policy question by themselves. Each candidate still needs Senate confirmation, and the commissions are designed to include competing viewpoints.

But filling the seats would give both agencies more capacity to vote, issue rules, and coordinate on the federal framework the market has been asking for.

For crypto investors and builders, that is the real headline: Washington may finally be moving from a handful of powerful chairs and staff proposals toward fully staffed commissions capable of making durable decisions.

Join the conversation!

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.

 

Search ProCoinNews