President Donald Trump has nominated Steven Levine to replace former Securities and Exchange Commission Commissioner Hester Peirce, one of the agency’s most prominent crypto advocates, as part of four nominations to fill vacancies at the SEC and Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
The White House announcement on Thursday named two nominees each for the SEC and CFTC, agencies whose decisions help shape US cryptocurrency regulation among other functions. All four nominations require Senate confirmation.
SEC vacancies
The nominations would replenish commissioner roles at both agencies. The SEC currently has only two of its five commissioner seats filled, while CFTC Chairman Michael Selig is the sole member of his agency’s five-seat commission.
Levine, a Republican, was nominated for an SEC term ending June 5, 2030, replacing Peirce, who left the agency in October. Peirce was a leading advocate for clearer crypto rules at the SEC and helped shape its approach to digital assets as former head of its Crypto Task Force. Levine’s views on crypto regulation are less publicly established.
Trump also nominated Democrat Kristin Johnson, a former CFTC commissioner, for the SEC seat held by Caroline Crenshaw, whose term has also expired. Johnson’s proposed term ends June 5, 2029. During her time at the CFTC, Johnson advocated for stronger customer protections and conflict-of-interest rules for crypto firms.
CFTC nominees
For the CFTC, Trump nominated Republican Nathan Anonick and Democrat Matthew Rowland, both of whom worked on the Clarity Act. CFTC Chairman Mike Selig called them “two strong bipartisan picks” for CFTC commissioners and said he looked forward to working with them upon their confirmation.
Senate path
The nominations come weeks before Democrats are set to take control of the Senate in January, giving Republicans a narrow window to confirm Trump’s picks.
The nominees would typically appear before the Senate Banking Committee for the SEC positions and the Senate Agriculture Committee for the CFTC roles. Following committee consideration, their nominations would go to the full Senate, where confirmation requires a majority vote.
