The White House sent the Senate four nominations Thursday for seats at the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The picks would give both agencies more members to vote on market rules and enforcement matters. The nominations leave the current rules for investors, brokers and futures traders in place.
Two nominees would join the SEC, which oversees securities markets. Two would join the CFTC, which oversees derivatives markets, including futures used by businesses to manage the risk of swings in commodity prices. A recent example of the CFTC’s role is its court fight over prediction-market oversight in Utah, where it argues that federal derivatives law governs the disputed contracts. Each commission has five seats, and no more than three members on either commission may belong to the same political party.
The nominees and their terms
The White House nominated Kristin N. Johnson, a former CFTC commissioner, for the SEC seat previously held by Caroline Crenshaw. Johnson's term would end June 5, 2029. Steven Levine, a White House economic adviser, was nominated for the seat previously held by Hester Peirce. His term would end June 5, 2030.
For the CFTC, Nathan Anonick was nominated for the seat previously held by Rostin Behnam, for a term ending June 19, 2031. Matthew Rowland was nominated to finish Summer Mersinger's term, which ends April 13, 2028. Both nominees have worked on the Senate Agriculture Committee's staff.
How the commissions would change
The SEC's roster lists Chair Paul Atkins and Commissioner Mark Uyeda. The CFTC's roster lists Chair Michael Selig as its sole commissioner. If all four nominees take office and the current members stay, the SEC would have four commissioners and the CFTC would have three. One SEC seat and two CFTC seats would still be open.
The SEC can already act with fewer than three members in office. Under its quorum rule, two commissioners can constitute a quorum if only two are in office. A revision effective Oct. 2 also allows one commissioner to act on a particular matter when every other sitting member is disqualified from it. Adding commissioners would change who can participate in those decisions. Any policy change would require separate action by the agency.
What happens in the Senate
The four nominees need Senate confirmation before they can take their seats. Thursday's announcement gave term end dates but set no timetable for a vote. The Senate's published hearing schedule did not list a hearing for the nominees Thursday evening. The committee notices are where readers can look for a hearing date and, once posted, testimony about how the nominees would approach the agencies' work.
