Crypto-Backers Ousted From House as Waters Eyes Key Panel

Three Republican lawmakers who backed crypto are out of their House seats. Reps. Bryan Steil, Zach Nunn and Ann Wagner all lost their races, according to TokenPost, thinning the pro-crypto bench in the chamber.

The bigger shake-up may be at the top. Rep. Maxine Waters could take the gavel of the House Financial Services Committee, the panel that shapes crypto legislation before it ever reaches a floor vote. Waters has opposed the CLARITY Act.

That would push current Chairman French Hill into the ranking minority spot. Hill sponsored the House version of the CLARITY Act, making him the bill's loudest Republican voice on the panel — from the minority side this time.

Hill's own race isn't officially settled. His district remained unresolved, though he was expected to win by roughly a few thousand votes. So the committee's exact lineup is still in motion.

There's more unfinished business. Rep. Mike Lawler conceded to Democratic challenger Cait Conley in New York's 17th Congressional District, but late-arriving ballots were still being counted and the race had not been called.

Why it matters: committee leadership steers how the CLARITY Act gets debated in the House. With crypto allies leaving and Waters potentially holding the gavel, the bill's path just got a lot more complicated.