US Senate confirms Treasury official as government shutdown continues

A majority of lawmakers in the US Senate voted to confirm Jonathan McKernan as Under Secretary for Domestic Finance at the Department of the Treasury.

In a Tuesday vote of 51 to 47, the Senate confirmed McKernan to the US Treasury, serving under Secretary Scott Bessent. Though the US government has been shut down since lawmakers failed to pass a bill extending funding beyond Sept. 30, Congress can essentially continue to operate.

McKernan, nominated to the Treasury by US President Donald Trump in June, has previously suggested opposition to debanking policies in the government, but did not explicitly tie the alleged practice to any association with digital assets. In a December X post, he cited an article from economist Tyler Cowen questioning whether the US banking system could “integrate with crypto.”

As undersecretary for domestic finance, McKernan would assist Bessent on issues related to the US economy. Former undersecretaries in his position have weighed in on a US central bank digital currency and how the Treasury Department may work with the Federal Reserve and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) on banking policies.

Related: US Treasury’s Bessent backpedals: Bitcoin buying still possible

McKernan previously served at the FDIC and was initially tapped to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau before Trump withdrew his nomination in May.

Government shutdown slows regulatory, legislative progress

The US government shutdown entered its eighth day on Wednesday. A Republican-led stopgap bill to fund the government failed by 54 to 45 in the Senate, not meeting the 60-vote threshold to pass.

Republicans currently hold a slim majority in the chamber and need Democratic votes to reopen the government. Democrats have asked for an extension of healthcare subsidies and a reversal of cuts from a July funding bill.