'Praise the Lord': Sen. Tim Scott reacts as SEC Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw's renomination vote is scrapped

"Praise the Lord," said future Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott (R-S.C.) when he heard the news first reported by Punchbowl News that a vote to renominate the Securities and Exchange Commission's Caroline Crenshaw has been scrapped for now the second time.  

"It's common sense," Scott said when asked by The Block about the news on Tuesday at the Blockchain Association Policy Summit. "Let the Trump administration make their choices and listen to the voters most importantly." 

A person with knowledge of Crenshaw's nomination later confirmed that news in a note sent to The Block. The vote was scheduled for 9:30 a.m. ET on Dec. 18. 

" [The vote] it's deader than disco," the person familiar said. 

Innovation has to come before regulation, Scott said.

"What we saw from the SEC, including [SEC Chair Gary] Gensler, as well as Crenshaw, was exactly the opposite," Scott said. 

The Senate Banking Committee, led by Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), who has criticized crypto, held a hearing last week to vote to nominate Democratic Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw to the SEC and Gordon Ito to the Financial Stability Oversight Council. However, that went sideways after Brown said Republicans objected to meeting to vote.

A Senate Banking Committee aide said they ran out of time in an emailed statement. 

"Though we had the support on Committee to advance the nominations, we ran out of time on the floor – partly due to the Republicans blocking the Committee from meeting last week," they said. "Because of limited time, we did not see a path forward to confirm these nominees this Congress."

Some in the crypto industry have called for Crenshaw's removal, citing her dissent after the approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded products earlier this year. In her statement, Crenshaw warned of fraud, manipulation, and the potential for investors to falsely believe they had protections.

Without Crenshaw's renomination, the SEC could be led by just one party in the near future. Crenshaw was the sole Democrat on the agency's commission. Last month, Bloomberg Law reported that Fellow Democratic Commissioner Jaime Lizárraga plans to leave the agency in January to spend more time with his family and his wife, who is fighting breast cancer. Earlier, Democratic Chair Gensler also said he would step down on the day of President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration.

That leaves three Republican commissioners — Mark Uyeda, Hester Peirce and recently tapped Chair Paul Atkins — to lead the SEC. President-elect Donald Trump nominated Atkins to chair the SEC earlier this month.