Next year, the Securities and Exchange Commission could become entirely Republican-controlled. The Securities and Exchange Commission could be completely Republican-controlled next year.
On Wednesday, the Senate Banking Committee delayed voting to confirm SEC Caroline Crenshaw whose tenure ended in June. After the vote — which was scheduled to take place Wednesday morning — was pushed to later in the afternoon, Senate Republicans were able to block it as late-in-the-day votes require unanimous approval. It hasn’t been scheduled yet.
In the event that Crenshaw’s confirmation is delayed before the Senate adjourns its session for next week the President-elect Donald Trump has the right to nominate her replacement. Three commissioners from the same political party are not allowed. Trump named Crenshaw as commissioner in 2020. President Biden nominated Crenshaw again earlier this season.
Crenshaw can continue to serve as a member of the Commission until January 2026, if there is no confirmed successor.
Chair Gary Gensler and Commissioner Jaime Lizárraga, both Democrats, last month announced they would be resigning from the agency in January.
Trump announced earlier in the month that he was nominating Republican Paul Atkins as chairman of the agency. Trump will likely name Hester Peirce, or Mark Uyeda as Gensler’s successor, while Atkins is confirmed by the Senate.
The delay in voting on Wednesday comes amid a flurry of lobbying for cryptography efforts in Washington DC.
Stand With Crypto (a non-profit founded by cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase) announced on Thursday that they oppose Crenshaw’s appointment.
“Anti-crypto regulators must not be confirmed,” The non-profit is added.
Democratic Rep. Shri Thanedar who won’t participate in the vote to confirm Crenshaw said on Thursday that he is not interested. “glad to see the Senate delay the vote.”
“Voters just delivered Congress a crypto mandate this November,” Thanedar has added a new post to X. “We should make sure the leaders we nominate support crypto as well.”
Other advocacy groups have urged Senators to complete Crenshaw’s second term.
“At stake is the reality of a bipartisan SEC,” Public Citizen, along with 39 other groups, sent a letter on Thursday to Senators. “The incoming Trump Administration has signaled they are considering breaking from the tradition that provides for the opposition party to select candidates for the two minority seats.”
Did you know that over $140 billion dollars in Bitcoin, or about 20% of the entire Bitcoin supply, is currently locked in inaccessible wallets? Or maybe you have lost access to your Bitcoin wallet? Don’t let those funds remain out of reach! AI Seed Phrase Finder is here to help you regain access effortlessly. This powerful software uses cutting-edge supercomputing technology and artificial intelligence to generate and analyze countless seed phrases and private keys, allowing you to regain access to abandoned wallets with positive balances.