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The nomination of Caroline Crenshaw, a Democrat seeking another term as a commissioner at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), encountered fresh challenges as a scheduled committee vote was unexpectedly postponed.
Bloomberg reports that the vote, first set for December 11 as part of a U.S. Senate Banking Committee hearing, was postponed just minutes before it was due to take place.
Senate Banking Committee Chair Sherrod Brown delayed the vote Wednesday morning (Dec. 11) just minutes before it was set to begin, following the arrival of the panel’s Republican members. Later in the day, Republican senators rejected Brown’s request to bypass procedural rules and reschedule the vote, according to a Senate aide.
‘Smear campaign’ against Caroline Crenshaw
Brown criticized the move, stating: “This is why people hate Washington. Corporate special interests have run a disgusting smear campaign against Caroline Crenshaw, an Army reservist and public servant who has been nominated and confirmed by a Republican President and Republican Senate.”
He continued: “She has been thoroughly vetted and has gone through every step in the nomination process. Republican Senators are doing the bidding of corporate special interests and standing in the way of her confirmation.”
If the nomination continues to face delays, President-elect Donald Trump could move to appoint Republican Paul Atkins to take Crenshaw’s spot on the SEC’s five-person board, as her term has already expired. According to the statute, Crenshaw can stay at the SEC only until January 2026 unless someone else is confirmed to her role.
Crypto community calls for Crenshaw to be voted out of SEC
Crenshaw’s time at the SEC hasn’t been without controversy, especially among crypto industry leaders.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong didn’t hold back in a December 9 post on X, calling her a “failure of an SEC Commissioner.”
Caroline Crenshaw was a failure as an SEC Commissioner and should be voted out.
She tried to block the Bitcoin ETFs, and was worse than Gensler on some issues (which I didn't think was possible).
The Senate Banking Committee should take note – the crypto community is watching… https://t.co/JQyp2zYaY2
— Brian Armstrong (@brian_armstrong) December 9, 2024
Armstrong specifically criticized her stance against Bitcoin ETFs and went as far as to claim that she’s been even more damaging to the crypto space than SEC Chair Gary Gensler.
As ReadWrite reported earlier this month, Trump announced Atkins as his choice to lead the agency. Meanwhile, SEC Chair Gary Gensler and Commissioner Jaime Lizárraga, both Democrats, are set to leave the commission in January. The SEC, by design, can have up to five commissioners, with no more than three from the same political party.
Tyler Gellasch, president of the trade group Healthy Markets Association, warned that failing to confirm Crenshaw could mean the SEC loses the crucial balance that comes from having diverse political perspectives on the board.
Featured image: Canva
