US 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’s latest announcement on Thursday named two nominees each for the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, agencies whose decisions help shape US cryptocurrency regulation, among other functions. All four nominations require Senate confirmation.
The nominations would replenish several commissioner roles. 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.
The nominations come weeks before Democrats are set to take control of the Senate in January, giving a narrow window for Republicans to confirm Trump’s picks.
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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, helping shape its approach to digital assets as the former head of its Crypto Task Force, while 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. Johnson has advocated for stronger customer protections and conflict-of-interest rules for crypto firms in her time at the CFTC.
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.
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.
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