This week, President Donald Trump stated for the first time that he is willing to nominate Democratic commissioners to fill vacancies at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which could offer a glimmer of hope for the cryptocurrency market structure bill stalled in the Senate.
"There are some areas we will pay attention to, some areas we will share power, and I am open to that," Trump said on Monday in the Oval Office in response to reporters' questions.
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Regarding whether he is willing to appoint Democrats to federal agencies, including the SEC and CFTC. According to the law, five-member commissions like the SEC and CFTC must have at least two commissioners from the minority party. But currently, the CFTC does not have any Democratic commissioners, and the SEC is expected to be in the same situation starting from the new year. Until this week, Trump had not indicated that he planned to fill the vacancies at these two financial regulatory agencies.
In contrast, Trump has taken aggressive action this year to purge other federal agencies.Democratic leadershipThis challenges a 90-year-old legal precedent that has prevented other presidents from doing so. Last week, the Supreme Court hinted that it is likely to...overturnthis precedent, granting Trump the power to arbitrarily dismiss federal agency commissioners—effectively ending the independence of these agencies.
On Monday, Trump argued that in his case, Democratic presidents would not nominate Republicans to federal agency positions.
"Do you think if it were up to them, they would appoint Republicans?" Trump said. "Usually, they don't appoint Republicans."
But every modern president—whether Republican or Democrat—has nominated members of the opposing party to lead federal regulatory agencies, as required by federal law.
The issue of bipartisan cooperation at federal agencies during the Trump era has had a significant impact on the cryptocurrency market structure bill, which is currently struggling to advance in the Senate. The bill would formally legalize much of the existing cryptocurrency industry and grant the SEC and CFTC significant authority in formulating regulations for the crypto sector.
Key Senate Democratshave stated
In recent weeks, there have been reports that the bill has little chance of passing without guarantees of Democratic participation in the rulemaking process. Trump's remarks this week may help ease Senate Democrats' concerns about the president's open hostility to bipartisan cooperation at federal regulatory agencies. But even if the Supreme Court ultimately grants the president the power to arbitrarily dismiss agency heads, the president can still nominate Democrats to certain regulatory positions and then replace them whenever he deems appropriate.
Meanwhile, progress on the cryptocurrency market structure bill in the Senate has slowed significantly, with a bipartisan negotiating group trying to reach consensus on this extensive legislation. Republican leadership initially hoped the bill would pass this summer, then hoped for passage before October, and later before the end of the year. But soon, they may truly run out of time, as Congress usually adjourns in early spring for the 2026 midterm elections.
On Monday, Senate Banking Committee Chairman, South Carolina Republican Senator Tim Scott, admitted that the bill would not be formally considered in committee until January 2026 at the earliest.
A spokesperson for Scott said in a statement: "The committee is continuing negotiations and looks forward to consideration in early 2026."
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