- The Senate Banking Committee set a November 19 hearing for two SEC nominations.
- Steven Levine and Kristin Johnson are Trump’s picks for the SEC seats.
- Two CFTC nominees were also named, but their hearing has not been scheduled.
SEC nominations moved onto the Senate Banking Committee calendar within hours of being announced by the White House, setting up a November 19 hearing for President Donald Trump’s two picks for the Securities and Exchange Commission. The quick scheduling stands out because the administration has only a short period left to advance priority nominees while Republicans still control the Senate. Trump’s SEC nominations are attorney Steven Levine and former Commodity Futures Trading Commission member Kristin Johnson. At the same time, the White House named two potential CFTC commissioners, but the Senate Agriculture Committee has not yet announced when it may review those separate nominations.
SEC nominations move quickly to a hearing
The Senate Banking Committee updated its calendar late Thursday and included Trump’s two SEC nominations in a November 19 hearing. That gave the nominees an unusually fast path to committee review, especially because the hearing date appeared shortly after the White House formally announced the selections.
The report said the speed reflects a limited window for the administration to move important confirmations. The current congressional session ends in early January, and Senate activity often slows by the middle of December as holiday breaks approach. That timing puts added pressure on the push to advance SEC nominations while the current Senate balance still favors Republicans.
Who the SEC nominations are
The SEC nominations are Steven Levine and Kristin Johnson. Levine is an attorney who has worked as a senior lawyer at the Department of Labor and also served as deputy chief of staff to current SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda.
Johnson previously served at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and is identified in the report as a Democrat. Since leaving the CFTC, she has been working as a professor at George Washington University School of Law. Her inclusion also makes these SEC nominations notable because the administration has generally not favored placing opposition-party members on regulatory commissions.
Other nominations still await action
Alongside the SEC nominations, the White House also announced two potential nominees for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Those picks are Nathan Anonick, a Republican staffer for the Senate Agriculture Committee, and Matthew Rowland, a Democrat who previously served on Johnson’s CFTC staff.
Unlike the SEC nominations, those CFTC picks do not yet have a hearing date. The Senate Agriculture Committee must handle that step, and it has not scheduled its review. A spokesperson said Chairman John Boozman welcomes the nominations and looks forward to holding a hearing soon, but no date has been placed on the calendar.
Why SEC nominations stand out now
The report describes the nomination of Democrats as unusual for this administration. Since the start of last year, the White House had allowed both the SEC and CFTC to narrow to Republican-only membership, with two Republicans at the SEC and only CFTC Chairman Mike Selig remaining at that agency.
The story also notes that bipartisan pairing has often been used for regulatory appointments because it can make confirmations easier by giving each party a nominee to support. In this case, the Democratic nominees were chosen for vacancies with the shortest remaining terms. If the committee advances the SEC nominations, the full Senate would still need to vote before the nominees can be confirmed.
Conclusion
The SEC nominations now appear to be on a faster timetable than the related CFTC picks, with a Senate Banking Committee hearing already scheduled for November 19. Trump’s two SEC nominees, Steven Levine and Kristin Johnson, were moved onto the calendar quickly as the administration works within a narrow confirmation window before the current session winds down. The separate CFTC nominees, Nathan Anonick and Matthew Rowland, are still waiting for action from the Senate Agriculture Committee. If the Banking Committee approves the SEC nominations, the next step would be a full Senate vote before either nominee could officially join the commission.
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