Trump Nominates Bipartisan Slate for SEC and CFTC

President Donald Trump announced the nomination of a bipartisan group of commissioners for the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The move aims to fill vacant seats at the agencies which operate with five-member panels.

For the SEC, the nominees are Republican Steven Levine and Democrat Kristin Johnson. Levine served on the White House Council of Economic Advisers and worked with Commissioner Mark Uyeda. Johnson has an academic background and previous experience at both the CFTC and JPMorgan Chase.

The choices for the CFTC include Republican Nathan Anonick and Democrat Matthew Rowland. Both have experience as aides on the Senate Agriculture Committee. Anonick participated in drafting proposals regarding digital assets and monitored the growth of the prediction market.

These are the first Democratic picks for Wall Street regulators since Trump returned to the White House. Confirmation of the nominees now depends on Senate approval. Currently, the CFTC has only Chairman Michael Selig, while the SEC has two active members.

The balanced composition of the regulatory agencies may reduce legal uncertainty regarding the classification of digital assets and the operation of derivatives markets in the United States.