U.S. Senate Banking Committee races toward hearing on new SEC nominations

Within hours of President Donald Trump's nominations for new commissioners at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Senate committee responsible for approval had scheduled a hearing for next week. This unusually fast turnaround reflects the administration's limited window to confirm high-priority nominations before Republicans lose their Senate majority.

Nominee Details

Among the nominees are attorney Steven Levine, who has served as a senior lawyer at the Department of Labor and was current Commissioner Mark Uyeda's deputy chief of staff, and former Commodity Futures Trading Commission member Kristin Johnson. Johnson, a Democrat, has been working as a professor at George Washington University School of Law since leaving the CFTC.

Bipartisan Approach

The White House also nominated two potential CFTC commissioners: Nathan Anonick, a Republican staffer for the Senate Agriculture Committee, and Democratic pick Matthew Rowland, who was on Johnson's CFTC staff. Nominating Democrats is unusual for this administration, which has otherwise sought to remove opposition party members from regulatory roles.

The Senate Agriculture Committee hasn't yet scheduled a hearing for the CFTC nominees. The current congressional session concludes in early January, though action typically winds down in mid-December as holiday breaks approach.