Tom Emmer keeps House GOP whip post after midterm losses

Bloomberg Government reported that the Minnesota representative beat Pfluger, a Texas lawmaker and chairman of the Republican Study Committee, on Tuesday, November 10. Emmer has held the whip post since 2023 and will serve under Ohio Representative Jim Jordan, who defeated House Majority Leader Steve Scalise 106 votes to 73 to become the next Republican leader.

The leadership contest followed substantial Republican losses in the midterms and calls within the party for changes. House Speaker Mike Johnson did not seek the minority leader position. After his win, Emmer said Republicans would hold Democrats accountable for their votes and committee proceedings in the next congressional session.

Emmer, co-chair of the Congressional Crypto Caucus, has backed legislation to clarify rules for digital asset businesses and opposed measures he says could hinder blockchain development. His initiatives include the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act, which would bar the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency without congressional authorization. The House passed the bill 219 to 210 in July 2025; in April 2026, it was attached to the Foreign Intelligence Accountability Act and sent to the Senate.

He has also supported the Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act, which would define regulatory boundaries between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Emmer raised concerns in September about proposed Senate changes that would protect blockchain developers from civil litigation without explicitly extending those protections to criminal cases.

Crypto trader Flood, posting as @ThinkingUSD, said on Nov. 11 that he had substantially reduced his market exposure amid uncertainty over Democratic control and concern about potential regulation. He cited possible restrictions on digital asset treasury companies, increased banking oversight under Senator Elizabeth Warren, prosecutions involving memecoin protocols, and tougher treatment of privacy-focused cryptocurrencies. “Short term, crypto may be uninvestable,” he wrote, while predicting considerable volatility and saying the longer-term consequences could eventually benefit Bitcoin.

Democratic lawmakers hold differing views on crypto regulation. The House Democratic caucus is scheduled to elect its leaders on November 18, before the new Congress convenes in January.