Crypto-friendly Patrick McHenry takes the interim House Speaker position
U.S. Representative and crypto-friendly lawmaker Patrick McHenry has been named interim Speaker of the House following the high-profile ouster of U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
McCarthy's impeachment came after Congress voted 216-210, with eight of the 216 votes from McCarthy's Republicans, marking the first time in US history that a House speaker has been removed from office, Reuters reported.
The vote came at the request of one of McCarthy's political rivals, Matt Gaetz, and called into question several of McCarthy's contradictory promises.
Although temporary, McHenry's appointment could be seen as a small victory for the digital assets sector. The Speaker sets the House's legislative agenda, oversees committee assignments, and schedules various bills to be debated and voted on by the House.
The Speaker of the House is considered to be the most influential position in the United States government after the President and Vice President.
Meanwhile, McHenry is considered one of the biggest challengers to the regulation of the Securities Exchange Commission with an enforcement-style approach to the cryptocurrency sector.
In testimony before Congress last week, McHenry grilled SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, suggesting he was trying to “stifle the digital asset ecosystem.” The SEC subpoenaed McHenry Gensler after he refused to come clean with Congress about his relationship with FTX and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.
SEC Chairman @GaryGensler scheduled commission vote to release requested documents to Congress.
If Gensler continues to stonewall, Republicans will have no choice but to issue the first subpoena from the committee to the SEC to compel their production. https://t.co/Aw5U0aJ0Tt
— Patrick McHenry (@PatrickMcHenry) October 2, 2023
McHenry released a discussion draft “Digital Asset Market Structure Proposal” on June 1, which aims to provide transparency, fill regulatory gaps and encourage innovation in the cryptocurrency space, a paper praised by some industry leaders.
RELATED: Rep. Patrick McHenry blames White House for lack of urgency on stablecoin bill negotiations.
However, McHenry's tenure as House Speaker may be short-lived, with a formal vote on a new House Speaker scheduled for Oct. 11, Bloomberg reported.
Along with McHenry, the Reuters report speculated that there is a possibility that pro-crypto representative Tom Emmer and even Donald Trump could be McCarthy's replacements, although none of them have officially expressed interest in taking the position.
50-50 We now have a crypto champion as Speaker, Whip Emmer and Speaker Pro tempore McHenry in the running. Wild day.
(The Speaker of the House is the third most powerful person in office after the President and the VPA for non-American followers.) https://t.co/2ow5li2lnw
— Ryan Selkis (@twobitidiot) October 3, 2023
Meanwhile, McCarthy has already confirmed that he will not run for Speaker of the House.
Magazine: Opinion: GOP crypto maxis almost as bad as Dems' ‘anti-crypto army'
