Kyrsten Sinema Is The Latest Addition To Crypto’s Sellout Dream Team. Who Will Be Next?

Outgoing Biden officials, members of Congress, and political staffers are all up for grabs by industries looking for their own roster of influence peddlers.

Here’s a summary of who’s already been drafted and who we expect to be signed soon.

First Round Selections:

Kyrsten Sinema

Once viewed as a top prospect by the private equity industry, Sinema’s draft prospects seemed to decline as a result of her trouble following the party line in the Senate. After using her position within the party to protect a tax loophole crucial to the private equity industry, Sinema requested a trade from the Democratic Caucus. While this may have endeared her to the industry, it did not help her political prospects long term. With Ruben Gallego promising to run on the Democratic ticket against her last year, Sinema decided to step aside and enjoy using her campaign funds on lavish trips to Europe and California Wine country instead.

Despite this, Sinema’s value was still high enough to be picked up by Coinbase’s Global Advisory Council. Crypto interest was unsurprising given the help she provided the industry while in office. Sinema is not the first high-profile elected official to join the crypto company’s team, she’ll be joining the council alongside Trump Campaign Manager Chris LaCivita and veteran crypto shills like former Congressman Tim Ryan, former Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy, former Senator Pat Toomey, and former Mayor of Los Angeles and CA Governor candidate, Antonio Villaraigosa. With no salary cap in the lobbying (or, in this case, unregistered influence-peddling) game, expect the already stacked roster of cryptocurrency cheerleaders to grow even further. Do not be surprised if Sinema is also able to expand her reach, taking a second position with private equity or another influential business lobby that she has long courted.

Debbie Stabenow

Despite being 74 years old, outgoing Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow was hired by the lobbying firm Liberty Partners Group. While technically not working as a lobbyist for the firm (her position is listed as senior policy advisor), Stabenow will be helping the firm support its clients’ goals.

Currently, Liberty Partners’ client roster is primarily composed of healthcare groups, but their website lists Google as a client as well. Given that Stabenow’s committee roles were not healthcare-focused, and her committee’s preeminent role in the regulation of commodities (making her one of DC’s most influential voices on cryptocurrency regulation), we expect Liberty Partners’ client list to expand rapidly, picking up cryptocurrency firms looking to push weaker regulations through the Senate.

High-Value Picks:

Patrick McHenry

The bow tie-wearing former Chair of the House Committee on Financial Services, McHenry (R-NC) has yet to be picked up by any firm, but he’s clearly one of the best prospects of the 2025 class. With a 20-year career in the House of Representatives, McHenry has the robust experience every lobbying firm is looking for. He’s a plug-and-play rookie for any industry looking for immediate regulatory evasion. While lobbying for Wall Street seems like a logical solution for the Chair of the Financial Services Chair, it has been cryptocurrency that has been throwing money left and right over the past year. It’s clear that 2025 is the year they want to make waves, and adding McHenry to their roster could be an easy way to add depth.

Garret Graves

Rumored to be in consideration to be Donald Trump’s FEMA Administrator or his Secretary of Transportation, Louisiana Congressman Garret Graves seemingly is still a free agent. The 52-year-old Congressman chose not to seek reelection after courts mandated Louisiana re-draw congressional district boundaries to fix the racial gerrymandering. A former congressional staffer who worked for the Energy and Commerce Committee, Graves is known as a detail-oriented policy wonk who was very effective during his ten years in Congress. Having spent time on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the Committee on Natural Resources, he would be an effective lobbyist if he decided to put some of his political ambitions on hold to pursue a payout. While ambitious and relatively young, Graves has come into conflict with his own party (particularly in his home state), possibly making a federal lobbying gig even more enticing.

Graves has already celebrated Trump’s Deputy Secretary of the Interior pick and during his time in Congress, he was a vocal proponent of expediting the permitting process, especially for fossil fuel projects. Given his Louisiana ties, working for the fossil fuel industry would be logical, but he could be a smart choice for the AI industry or the Abundance Agenda looking to make inroads in the MAGA-led Department of Interior and House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

Cathy McMorris Rodgers

Rodgers doesn’t have the same clear path to a financial lobbying gig that McHenry does, but as the former Chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee (one of the most powerful roles in Congress) and as the Vice Chair of Donald Trump’s 2016 transition team, McMorris Rodgers is perfectly suited to lobby on any number of issues. Despite an apparent loss of favor with Trump at some point in 2016 (leading to her not receiving an expected appointment to Secretary of the Interior), Rodgers continued to be a Trump loyalist throughout her time in the House. Given the myriad of issues she’s well-situated to lobby on, she’d be a likely pick for one of the lobbying firms that are on the rise with Trump back in power. Do not be surprised if she’s hired by the likes of Ballard Partners or Mercury Public Affairs.

Under the Radar Prospects:

Sean Patrick Maloney

A veteran of the Coinbase Global Advisory Board that Sinema just joined, Maloney stepped down to accept a post as Ambassador to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. This was, of course, after some pressure from The Revolving Door Project and Senator Elizabeth Warren. Warren got Maloney to commit to not accepting any job or compensation with a cryptocurrency or digital asset firm for four years after leaving office, so he’ll be forced to look elsewhere for playing time. Despite that, he’s still a party insider with connections to peddle. With his apparent resignation from the ambassadorship, he’s more than likely already seeking out a position somewhere.

Rostin Behnam

Commodities Future Trading Commissioner Rostin Behnam relinquished his post at the CFTC on February 7th despite his term not expiring until next year. The former CFTC Chair was known to be friendlier to the digital assets and cryptocurrency industries than any other Democratic regulators, especially Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler, so his post-government career seems likely to include work on their behalf. He could also take a more traditional role working for a big bank or commodity trading group. Given his previous experience as a top aide to Senator Stabenow, he could be valuable for his experience in both the executive and legislative branches, allowing a prospective firm to score a multi-threat influence peddler.

Waiver Wire Pickups:

The Children Of Powerful Trump Administration Officials

Any lobbying firm looking for a budget-friendly way to pad out their roster needs look no further than the children of key public servants. Within days of her mother being tapped as Trump’s White House Chief of Staff, Katie Wiles was promoted by her employer, lobbying firm Continental Strategy, to be director of lobbying and consulting for their Jacksonville and Washington DC offices. Her prior experience? Less than two years working as “Communications Chief” to the mayor of Jacksonville. Oh, and nebulous “connections” to people in DC so crucial that a sitting Congressman, Rep. Byron Donalds, celebrated her promotion.

Thankfully, Katie Wiles is not alone. Her sister, Caroline Wiles, is also headed to DC as Vice President of Federal Affairs for Florida-based lobbying firm Rubin Turnbull & Associates. After the last Trump administration resulted in Caroline being forced out of the White House for failure to pass a background check, it’s great to see that all Caroline needed to land on her feet was a parent landing one of the most powerful positions in government. The lesson to prospective lobbying firms? Why wait for powerful people to leave government service when you purchase their influence immediately through their children?