Last September, my colleague Toni Aguilar Rosenthal urged Democrats to extend Caroline Crenshaw’s Commissionership at the SEC before a potential Trump administration could name her replacement. Instead, then-Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) scrapped Crenshaw’s reconfirmation vote altogether, allowing her term to expire and granting Trump a vacant seat to fill.
Schumer’s decision was an example of Democrats’ unnecessary acquiescence both to industry and Trump. Recent actions have shined a light on the staffer assisting Schumer in making these decisions.
Last Friday, the self-described “research-driven crypto investment firm” Paradigm announced six new additions to its Policy Council. This number included Jen Brown, who served as Schumer’s Banking Counsel until January. According to Paradigm, Brown “advised the [former] Senate Majority Leader on all matters of financial policy,” presumably including the renomination of Commissioner Crenshaw.
The conflict of interest—a powerful lawmakers’ staffer securing a new (and presumably high-paying) role at a cryptocurrency firm just months after her boss made a consequential decision to ensure the firm would receive favored regulation—is clear. Especially as the now Republican-controlled SEC endeavors to undue the Biden administration’s legacy of crypto industry oversight.
Brown now joins the growing list of former government employees willing to sellout on behalf of the crypto industry, alongside former Chair of the House Financial Services Committee Patrick McHenry, former DCCC Chair Patrick Maloney, and former Senator Kyrsten Sinema.