Crypto advocates weigh in on race for next US House speaker.
At the time of publication, half of the United States' federal legislature was paralyzed by a vote to impeach then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
US lawmakers voted to vacate the Speaker of the House of Representatives on October 3, marking the first time in US history that a branch of government has been without a leader. Representatives are scheduled to return to Congress on October 11 to vote on a new speaker. Reports indicate that Republicans Jim Jordan and Steve Scalise are the frontrunners.
Speaker of the House Contest.
Convention (Scalise) Vs Chaos (Jordan).https://t.co/sTQKHjY2wC
— CryptoSmind (@SmindCrypto) October 10, 2023
Following McCarthy's absence, crypto-friendly lawmaker Patrick McHenry is acting as interim speaker but is not expected to be a contender for the job. Former US President Donald Trump They supported Jordan by spreading false rumors about the results of the 2020 presidential election. Scalise, who describes himself as akin to white supremacist David Duke “without the baggage,” is also likely to gain support from many in the Republican Party.
“[The Speaker’s race] Legally it cripples homes on all fronts,” said the Blockchain Association's director of government relations in an Oct. 10 X thread. “If it goes out for more than a week, a lot of things can happen, including new speaker candidates. For crypto though, McHenry is still the man to watch. He wants a vote on crypto ASAP.”
According to Hammond, the uncertainty surrounding House Speaker Sam Bankman-Fried's impeachment trial and the war between Israel and Hamas could push “bills as a stable coin” into November or December:
“These major events lead into the 2024 election cycle. Presidential election years are difficult to pass anything meaningful in Congress because everyone is focused on winning.”
Ji Kim, head of global policy at the Crypto Council for Innovation, told Cointelegraph that crypto is a priority for Congress. According to Kim, legislation including the 21st Century Financial Innovation and Technology and Payment Transparency Stablecoin Act “may be delayed until a new Speaker is elected.”
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It's unclear how Republican lawmakers plan to prevent a repeat of the events that led to McCarthy's election as speaker in January. It took 15 rounds of voting before the California representative officially held the position, during which all rules were upheld.
Neither Jordan nor Scalise has spoken publicly about any pro- or anti-crypto stance. Crypto-specific bills passed by the House Financial Services Committee in July could move forward with a floor vote in the full House before the upcoming congressional session, but delays in determining a speaker and the resulting government shutdown in November could hamper progress.
Magazine: Opinion: GOP crypto maxis almost as bad as Dems' ‘anti-crypto army'
