Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, who won reelection in a race against Republican John Deaton, will be the leading Democratic lawmaker in the United States Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee starting in 2025.
In a Nov. 13 notice from Sen. Warren’s office, the Massachusetts Senator said she would be in the ranking member position against the Republican majority on the Senate Banking Committee, replacing Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown, who lost his race on Nov. 5. Senators Warren and Brown are some of the most vocal skeptics of cryptocurrency in the US Congress, but the Massachusetts Senator did not say anything to suggest that she would continue this strategy in the next Congress.
“In the aftermath of the 2024 election, it’s powerfully important for Democratic leadership to show that we can make life more affordable for working people and to act with urgency to rebuild our middle class,” said Sen. Warren. “For Massachusetts and hard-working families nationwide, this new role means a better chance to advance solutions like building more housing to lower prices and protecting consumers from private equity greed and special interest scams.”
Sen. Brown, who has chaired the banking committee since 2021, lost his bid for reelection against Republican Bernie Moreno, paving the way for the Ohio Senator to leave Congress in January. Cryptocurrency-backed political action committees (PACs) spent more than $40 million to support Moreno through media buys, contributing to one of the most expensive congressional races in 2024.
“Making sure there wouldn’t be a Chair Brown is worth even a Ranking Member Warren,” said Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal in a Nov. 12 X post. The crypto exchange contributed more than $45 million to PACs that worked to unseat Sen. Brown and other candidates deemed “anti-crypto.”
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Deaton, a lawyer who has advocated for XRP holders in court, ran a campaign using Sen. Warren’s anti-crypto statements in ads and on the debate stage. According to the Associated Press, the Massachusetts Senator defeated Deaton with roughly 59.6% of the vote.
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Sen. Warren will be the top Democrat in a committee with a Republican majority after the party was projected to win control of the House of Representatives, Senate, and the Presidency. Shortly after the presidential election results were called, Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis — another member of the banking committee — said she planned to have lawmakers pass a bill to “build a strategic Bitcoin reserve.”
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