Senate scraps vote to renominate SEC’s Crenshaw following crypto backlash

The Senate Banking Committee has rejected the nomination of Democrat and crypto-perhaps Securities and Exchange Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw for another term as Wall Street’s top official.

The move comes after major lobbying efforts by major players crypto industry convince Senate Democrats to block President Biden’s nomination of Crenshaw for another five-year term.

The Senate Banking Committee, which is still controlled by Democrats until the next Congress begins in January, was scheduled to vote Wednesday morning on whether to advance his nomination in the full Senate, but the markup was delayed because of the limited time available until the end of Congress on Thursday, according to a committee aide.

CRYPTO LOBBY TARGETS SEC’S CRENSHAW AHEAD SENATE COMMITTEE VOTE

Securities and Exchange Commission nominee Caroline Crenshaw speaks during a nomination hearing for the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee on July 11, 2024 in Washington. (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The repeal would effectively end Crenshaw’s tenure on the commission if President-elect Donald Trump chooses to renominate him when he takes office on January 20. However, it would be highly unlikely that the crypto-friendly president-elect would nominate anyone who is considered part of Biden’s regulatory apparatus, which has pushed massively for the $3 trillion digital asset. industry – the industry that helped get him elected.Trump, ironically, has to name two people outside his own party: to fill minority seats, nominated Crenshaw for his first presidential term.

Crenshaw could not be reached for comment, and a spokesman for the SEC declined to comment.

The effort to oust Crenshaw was another test of the crypto industry’s political influence. During the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump actively wooed crypto voters by touting his ability to end the Biden-era regulatory stronghold. Instead, he got millions from industry stalwarts like the Winklevoss brothers , while industry-backed super PACs spent more $130 million to package Congress with anonymous candidates.

President-elect Donald Trump gestures at the Bitcoin 2024 event on July 27, 2024 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Reuters/Kevin Wurm/File Photo/Reuters Photos)

This time, through social media posts, letters to senators and even a mobile ad campaign, the industry’s message to politicians was clear. Voting for Crenshaw would have political ramifications The threat was taken seriously and led to last week’s vote being postponed Wednesday morning after Senate Republicans blocked efforts by Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown to hold a special vote on Crenshaw and Biden’s Financial Stability Oversight Board nominee. for: Senate normal hours.

Some Democrats resent the outsized political influence of crypto, amid attempts by crypto-friendly Republican senators such as committee member Tim Scott to block the vote, Brown said. “This is why people hate Washington. Corporate special interests have waged a vile smear campaign against the Army Reserve and Caroline Crenshaw, who was nominated and confirmed by a Republican president.”

Brown, an Ohio Democrat who was himself a target of political spending by the crypto lobby because of his perceived anti-crypto stance, lost the seat he had held since 2007 to Republican challenger Bernie Moreno, who the industry backed with $40 million.

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Speaker Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, speaks during a hearing of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Nov. 18, 2021. (JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images)

Crenshaw is likely to serve out his term until the new Republican-controlled Senate confirms his replacement next year. It is unclear which nominees Trump will choose to fill the commission’s non-Republican seats, but congressional tradition allows the minority party to nominate nominees. , although the president is not bound to accept their proposals.

Meanwhile, the crypto industry is wasting no time in floating names for the crypto-Democrat Trump transition team they would like to see in their roles, according to an industry source at one crypto advocacy group, Georgetown Law, who spoke on condition of anonymity. is Prof. Chris Brummer, a Democrat, has been floated as a possible chairman of the SEC if Vice President Kamala Harris the White House had won.

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Brummer is an avid supporter of digital assets and blockchain, and hosts the annual Washington, D.C. Fintech Week, attended by many industry participants. chief legal officer A former partner at blockchain payments firm Davis Polk & Wardwell, anchorage digital cryptobank TuongVy Le is also an industry favorite as Senior Counsel in the Division of Enforcement and later as General Counsel in the Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs.A graduate of the SEC and the New York Department of Financial Services Research and Carla Carrivo, Special Adviser on Innovation, is also leading the way.