US lawmakers cancel vote to renominate SEC Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw

• The original vote was scheduled for December 11, but was postponed by Sherrod Brown, the Senate Banking Committee Chair
• Congress is due to stop on December 20, so it’s unlikely that Crenshaw will be renominated before President-elect Donald Trump enters the White House
• The crypto industry has openly opposed the renomination of Crenshaw

A US Senate vote to renominate Democrat Caroline Crenshaw for a second term at the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been canceled.

In an update, the US Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs said the scheduled vote on the nomination of Crenshaw to the SEC and Gordon Ito to the Financial Stability Oversight Council had been canceled.

The original vote was scheduled for December 11; however, Sherrod Brown, the Senate Banking Committee Chair, postponed it within minutes of starting, due to issues between the Democrats and Republicans.

At the time, Brown later released a statement saying that corporate special interests are running a “disgusting smear campaign against Caroline Crenshaw.”

Yet, with Congress due to stop on December 20 for the holidays, it means Crenshaw is unlikely to be renominated before President-elect Donald Trump’s administration re-enters the White House in January.

Crenshaw’s term officially ended in June.

Opposition to Crenshaw

The crypto industry has been openly opposed to the reappointment of Crenshaw.

In a letter to Brown and Senate Banking Committee Ranking Member Tim Scott, the Blockchain Association and the DeFi Education Fund argued that Crenshaw’s actions have undermined Congress’s mandate to establish clear regulatory policies for the crypto industry.

Following the news of Crenshaw’s reappointment, Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, took to X to say: “She tried to block the Bitcoin ETFs, and was worse than Gensler on some issues (which I didn’t think was possible).”

With Crenshaw’s renomination vote canceled, the SEC could have a Republican majority leading it for the time being.

The SEC can make up to five commissioners, but no more than three can form the same political party. Current SEC chair Gary Gensler, a Democrat, is stepping down on January 20, and SEC Commissioner Jaime Lizárraga, also a Democrat, will step down on January 17.

Last week, Trump nominated pro-crypto Paul Atkins, a Republican, as chair of the SEC.

Including Gensler and Lizárraga, the three remaining SEC commissioners are Republicans Hester Peirce and Mark Uyeda.