Trump Names Four SEC And CFTC Nominees: Who Writes Crypto Rules With The CLARITY Act Stalled

Who Did Trump Nominate?

The White House list names each nominee's agency, the seat they'd fill and when that term ends.

Rowland would serve out the rest of Mersinger's term, which ends in 2028. The other three would start new five-year terms.

Johnson is the only one of the four with a public record at either agency. She was a CFTC commissioner, announcing her staff in May 2022 and hosting a regulators' roundtable for the CFTC in July 2025. Her nomination would move her from one market regulator to the other.

Levine works at the White House Council of Economic Advisers and previously worked at the SEC. Anonick is on the Senate Agriculture Committee's Republican staff. Rowland is a CFTC attorney who worked on Johnson's staff and has been detailed to the Agriculture Committee.

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Which Seats Are Empty Right Now?

The SEC's commissioner page lists two commissioners: Chairman Paul Atkins, whose term runs to 2031, and Mark Uyeda, whose term runs to 2028. Its historical list of commissioners shows both as Republicans.

Hester Peirce, a Republican, left on Oct. 2, 2026, after Atkins and Uyeda issued a statement on her departure. Her term had already expired, and federal law let her keep serving until the end of the current session of Congress, but she left before then. Caroline Crenshaw, the SEC's last Democratic commissioner, served until Jan. 3, 2026.

At the CFTC, the commissioners page lists only Chairman Michael Selig, sworn in Dec. 22, 2025. Behnam, whose seat Anonick would take, was set to leave on Feb. 7, 2025, the CFTC said when it named an acting chairman.

Who Writes Crypto Rules Without The CLARITY Act?

The CLARITY Act would set out in law which crypto assets and markets fall under the SEC and which fall under the CFTC. It passed the House in July 2025, but on Sept. 15, 2026, a Senate procedural vote to take it up failed 49-50, short of the three-fifths of the Senate it needed. Senate records show no further vote on the bill through Nov. 12. The bill isn't formally dead, but it would have to be reintroduced if it doesn't pass before this Congress ends on Jan. 3, 2027.

Until Congress passes a market structure law, the two agencies set crypto policy under the laws they already have. The SEC decides when a token sale or crypto product counts as a security, which brings in registration and disclosure rules. The CFTC oversees crypto futures and other derivatives, and prediction markets such as Kalshi. Each commission makes those calls by majority vote, through rules, guidance, exemptions and enforcement cases.

Bank regulators play a smaller part. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, for example, granted Coinbase's new national trust bank charter, but that covers custody, not which tokens can trade.

What Changes If The Nominees Are Confirmed?

Both agencies have five seats, and federal law says no more than three commissioners on either can belong to the same political party (SEC law, CFTC law).

• SEC: With Levine and Johnson confirmed, the SEC would have Atkins, Uyeda and Levine, three Republicans and the legal maximum, plus Johnson as its only Democrat. The fifth seat would stay open, and it couldn't go to another Republican.
• CFTC: With Anonick and Rowland confirmed, the CFTC would have three commissioners, Selig, Anonick and Rowland, with two seats still open. Rowland would be its only Democrat.

A commissioner in the minority can't block a vote, but can vote against a rule or case and publish a dissent explaining why, which becomes part of the public record. If the seats stay empty, the SEC keeps deciding crypto questions with two Republican commissioners, and the CFTC with Selig alone.

What Is The January Deadline?

The Senate Banking Committee, which handles SEC nominees, has scheduled a nomination hearing for Levine and Johnson on Nov. 19 at 15:00 UTC (10 a.m. ET, 7 a.m. PT), alongside three other nominees. The Senate Agriculture Committee, which handles CFTC nominees, lists Anonick and Rowland on its nominations page as received Nov. 12 but hadn't scheduled a hearing for them as of Nov. 14. Each nominee needs a committee vote and then a vote of the full Senate.

The deadline comes from the calendar. The current session of the Senate ends no later than noon on Jan. 3, 2027, when the new Congress begins. Under Senate Rule XXXI, nominations "neither confirmed nor rejected" during the session can't be acted on in a later session unless the president sends them to the Senate again.

The new Senate will have a Democratic majority after the Nov. 3 midterms, with Sen. Elizabeth Warren set to chair the Banking Committee. Our story on what a Warren-led Senate Banking Committee means for crypto covers her stated priorities.

What This Means For Your Money

Nothing changes in your accounts today. A nomination doesn't change any rule, and even confirmed commissioners act only through votes of the full commission.

• Watch the Nov. 19 hearing. Senators can ask Levine and Johnson about crypto, and the Banking Committee posts video on its hearing page.
• Watch the agencies for rule changes. With the CLARITY Act stalled, SEC and CFTC votes decide how US platforms list tokens, run prediction markets and offer crypto products, and those decisions can shift as commissioners come and go.
• Check a platform's record before you use it. Our crypto fines and penalties tracker shows what US and foreign regulators have ordered each company to pay.
• Outside the US, these agencies don't regulate you directly, but they do regulate US companies such as Coinbase and the US arms of global exchanges, which can change which products those companies offer.

FAQ

Is The CLARITY Act Dead?

Not formally. A Senate procedural vote to take it up failed 49-50 on Sept. 15, 2026, and the Senate hasn't voted on it since. If it doesn't pass before this Congress ends on Jan. 3, 2027, it would have to be reintroduced in the new Congress.

Who Is Kristin Johnson?

Johnson is a former CFTC commissioner who served during the Biden administration, with CFTC records showing her on the commission from 2022 into 2025. Trump has nominated her to the SEC seat Caroline Crenshaw held, for a term ending June 5, 2029. She's a Democrat.

What Happens If The Senate Doesn't Confirm The Nominees By January?

Under Senate Rule XXXI, nominations still pending when the session ends can't be acted on in the next session unless the president sends them again. The new Senate, led by Democrats, would then decide whether to hold hearings.

Why Does Party Balance Matter At The SEC And CFTC?

Federal law caps each commission at three members from one party, so a five-member commission always includes at least two commissioners from outside the majority party when it's full. Minority commissioners can't block decisions, but their votes and written dissents put disagreements on the public record.