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Congressional leaders are back on the Hill today for the final weeks of the session, and they have their work cut out.
The current federal spending plan expires on Dec. 20, but a government shutdown seems unlikely (at least at this point). Both Republicans and Democrats have expressed interest in passing a continuing resolution that would fund the government through March.
The upside for the GOP is they get to put off making bigger decisions until they have control of both chambers. The downside is President-elect Donald Trump probably doesn’t want Congress tied up in appropriation bills when he’s trying to get nominations through the Senate and pass tax, immigration and tariff policies.
For Dems, the Senate would prefer to focus on getting as many of President Biden’s judicial nominations confirmed before the end of the year. Plus, funding bills need a 60-vote threshold in the Senate, and Republicans only have 53 seats. So Democrats are hardly ceding all their power.
A three-month stopgap, for better or for worse, is probably what is going to happen. For those looking to see significant crypto policy movement in the first quarter of 2025, this isn’t great news.
Still, industry officials seem confident that the second Trump administration will bring a new era of crypto policy to the US. Coinbase chief policy officer Faryar Shirzad told CNBC this week that he sees versions of the FIT21 bill and the Clarity for Payment Stablecoins Act moving “fairly quickly” next year.
There’s no denying that a Republican majority in the House and the Senate (narrow as it may be) bodes well for getting crypto policy over the finish line. But at the end of the day, it comes down to what lawmakers — namely, committee heads — want to prioritize.
We could see some action from Trump in the form of executive orders, especially should he hire a “crypto czar,” a potential position Blockworks first reported on in July. The crypto czar would likely have a team, potentially made up of industry execs and interested parties, we’ve heard from people close to the matter. If you’re looking to read the tea leaves on who might make up this new crypto policy council, I’d start with Trump’s top industry donors.
In terms of agency actions, the Senate will need to confirm SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s successor, plus a replacement for resigning Commissioner Jaime Lizárrage.
Rumor has it that Trump could name his pick to lead the SEC today. One outlet reported that Trump already asked former SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins to head the agency (citing those “familiar with discussions”), but that Atkins has not yet accepted. Atkins did not immediately return Blockworks’ request for comment.
Another name that has come up in SEC chair speculation is Brian Brooks, an ex-acting comptroller of the currency.
The next SEC chair would probably replace Sanjat Wadhwa, who currently works as acting director of the division of enforcement. This has potential to really shake up how the SEC pursues enforcement actions and which actors it chooses to target.
As for ongoing enforcement actions, I’ve said before that I’m skeptical we’ll see the SEC just drop these cases as the process is a bit more complicated than that. But stranger things have happened.