Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow is the chair of the United States Senate Agriculture Committee. She announced her intention to retire in 2025.
Stabenow made an announcement Jan. 5, said she would finish the remainder of her six-year term in the Senate, then “pass the torch” to other U.S. lawmakers. The senator was one of the lawmakers behind the Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act, or DCCPA — a bill aimed at establishing additional regulatory clarity for cryptocurrencies and the role thathe Commodity Futures Trading Commission would play in overseeing digital assets.
Stabenow said she would be focusing on legislation aimed at improving “the lives of Michiganders” during her final two years in office, but did not specifically mention the crypto bill. After the 2024 elections, her term will expire on January 3, 2025. Since 2001, Stabenow is a member of the Senate.
A new generation of leaders inspired me to take the torch in the U.S. Senate. Today, I announce that I will not run for re-election. I will be leaving the U.S. Senate at my term’s end on January 3, 2025.
You can read my complete statement herehttps://t.co/qYJE6lyRJ3 pic.twitter.com/Fq659Aevs0
— Sen. Debbie Stabenow (@SenStabenow) January 5, 2023
As the chair of Senate Agriculture Committee, Stabenow supervised hearings on digital assets that were considered commodities. This included one in December which examined the collapse crypto exchange FTX. After the exchange filed for bankruptcy in November and authorities scrutinized former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried — who often lobbied for the DCCPA — the senator continued to push for the bill’s passage.
John Boozman, one of the DCCPA’s coauthors and ranking member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, will likely remain in office until January 2029. A number of regulators and leaders from the industry have also endorsed the bill, including Kristin Johnson (CFTC commissioner) and Sheila Warren (Crypto Council for Innovation CEO).
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Boozman reportedly planned After the 118th Congress was sworn in, the Crypto Bill was reintroduced in December. Despite the fact that the U.S. Senate began proceedings on January 3, the House of Representatives is yet to select a new Speaker, a historic moment.