Why the crypto world loves new GOP speaker front-runner Tom Emmer

Majority Whip Tom Emmer is the Republican nominee for House leader after he bested eight competitors to become the party’s latest speaker-designee on Tuesday.

His reported 117-97 victory over his final rival — Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) — came in a closed-door meeting among Republicans. It represented yet another split vote in what has now stretched into an epic three-week-long quest for divided House Republicans to unite behind a speaker candidate since the ouster of Kevin McCarthy at the beginning of the month.

Emmer’s candidacy is now headed to the full House with uncertain prospects after both Reps. Steve Scalise (R-La.) and Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) also held the speaker-designee title in recent weeks but saw their candidacies nonetheless stall out.

Still, Emmer’s victory among Republicans brings a new element to the chaotic race as the Minnesota lawmaker is one of the House’s closely connected candidates to the business world, particularly the cryptocurrency sector.

"We must come together for the good of the American people," Emmer wrote in a recent letter touting his candidacy. Emmer won after five rounds of voting that saw many conservatives repeatedly opt for other candidates, including on the final ballot.

On cryptocurrency, Emmer has been a champion of the industry from his position on the House Financial Services Committee. He earned legions of fans in the sector both for his push for legislation around digital assets but also his vociferous attacks on Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler.

Emmer’s wider record is also one historically focused on financial issues and could give the business world comfort over previous candidates like Jordan who were seemingly more interested in cultural fights.

A reputation as a cryptocurrency advocate

As co-chair of the Congressional Blockchain Caucus, Emmer even has a blockchain section on his website where he extolls the technology as one that "could help restore our national values."

A tracker of his public statements on Coinbase labels him "very supportive" of crypto.

Emmer has introduced legislation to provide regulatory certainty as well as to stop the Federal Reserve from issuing digital currency.

He has also been a key champion for two broader ongoing cryptocurrency negotiations — one focused around crypto’s market structure and another focused on stablecoins — that many hope can be considered in the year ahead if policy differences among lawmakers can be ironed out.

Elevating Emmer to speaker would also a give a giant platform to one of the Capitol’s fiercest critics of SEC Chair Gensler, who is leading the agency's crackdown on the digital asset sector.

"I’m convinced you are not an impartial regulator," Emmer told Gensler during tense questioning just last month. "It’s clear that you are working to consolidate your own power even though it means crushing opportunities for everyday Americans and frankly the financial future of this country," he added.

Emmer is not the only crypto-focused congressman to gain prominence recently; another is Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), currently serving as speaker pro tempore.

Other business-focused efforts

Emmer’s district includes the Minneapolis suburbs and rural areas, as well as the city of St. Cloud. It’s a strongly Republican area; Emmer’s predecessor in the seat was the well-known conservative firebrand Michele Bachmann, who retired in 2014.

But Emmer’s record is more sparse on the hot button cultural issues Bachmann was known for. Emmer has historically had an approach that could lower the temperature on some of those high-profile fights in the year ahead.

In 2022, Emmer bucked many in his party and voted to codify same-sex marriage. He also voted to certify Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 presidential election — unlike Scalise, Jordan, or McCarthy.

In fact, his candidacy is so appealing to moderates that even some Democrats — like Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) whose district borders Emmer’s — have publicly floated the idea of Democrats sitting out a floor vote to help Emmer get the gavel as long as he agrees to certain concessions like committing to spending levels set in this spring’s debt-ceiling deal.

While Emmer is unlikely to court any support from Democrats, he did organize House GOP support for the debt-ceiling deal as majority whip and has often voiced support for the bipartisan deal.

"The debt ceiling conversation ended with the largest legislative savings in our nation’s history," Emmer wrote in a Washington Times op-ed this summer.

Of course, while his tendencies toward cooperation could allow Emmer to work with Democrats to pass legislation if he becomes speaker, it could also harden the conservative Republican campaign against him.

Some lawmakers have already pledged to vote against him based on his same-sex marriage vote, and Emmer’s vote to certify Biden as the winner in 2020 despite President Trump’s election denialism has also been in focus in recent days. Trump allies launched a campaign against his candidacy even as Trump himself offered more supportive words.

"He called me yesterday and told me I’m your biggest fan," Trump said on Monday of Emmer during a stop in New Hampshire, adding, "I’ve always gotten along with him."

Emmer of course was quick to tout the semi-endorsement online.

Ben Werschkul is Washington correspondent for Yahoo Finance.

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