Senate Democrats rally against crypto bill amid criticism of Trump’s ties to the industry

Washington — Senate Democrats are rebelling against a crypto regulation bill, putting the first-of-its-kind legislation in jeopardy ahead of a possible key vote on it later this week. 

The bill, known as the GENIUS Act, would create a regulatory framework for stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency tied to the value of an asset like the U.S. dollar. It advanced out of the Senate Banking Committee in March with bipartisan backing, but has since bled Democratic support amid concerns about President Trump and his family’s business ventures involving cryptocurrency. 

The bill passed through the committee weeks before the announcement earlier this month that an Abu Dhabi-backed firm will invest billions of dollars in a Trump family-linked crypto firm, World Liberty Financial. The deal involves the firm buying $2 billion worth of a stablecoin offered by World Liberty Financial, and using it to invest in crypto exchange Binance.

The news set off alarm bells for Democrats, who are now pushing for legislation that bans elected officials and their families from buying or selling crypto assets, including stablecoins. 

Last week, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, told his members that they should not commit to voting for the GENIUS Act as a way to leverage changes, according to a source familiar with the discussions. Talks between Republicans and Democrats about potential changes are ongoing. 

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, has signaled openness to modifications, but told reporters Tuesday “we need to start moving forward.” A procedural vote is expected Thursday, despite the opposition, and needs at least 60 votes. 

Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego of Arizona, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, said the stablecoin bill advanced out of the committee with the caveat that improvements would be made before it was brought up for a floor vote. But Republicans moved ahead without addressing Democrats’ concerns on provisions involving anti-money laundering, national security and consumer protections, Gallego said. 

“I think the purpose of that was really to put Democrats in a bad position and try to force us to vote for it,” Gallego told MeidasTouch in an interview posted Wednesday. 

“You can’t try to f*** us and then say, hey, deal with it,” Gallego added. “That’s just not going to work, especially when you still need our votes.” 

A few Republican senators — Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky, Josh Hawley of Missouri and John Kennedy of Louisiana — have also indicated that they could vote against the bill for various other reasons. 

Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, has circulated a fact sheet to all Senate Democrats laying out how she says the stablecoin bill falls short on safeguarding against corruption, as well as protecting consumers, the financial system and national security. 

The fact sheet’s lead recommendation is for elected officials and their families to be barred from owning, buying, selling or otherwise participating in stablecoin business ventures. 

“Congress is writing laws that will sharply increase or decrease the value of stablecoin businesses, and the public should know that no one is making decisions to further their own financial interests, including the President of the United States. The current version of the GENIUS Act contains no such restrictions,” it says. 

In a statement to CBS News, Warren said, “Democrats who both support and oppose the GENIUS Act agree that green lighting Donald Trump’s corrupt stablecoin deals is wrong. We need to make sure we fix this in the bill, or else the GENIUS Act will simply facilitate Trump’s crypto corruption.” 

The request aligns with a separate bill introduced by Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon on Tuesday. The bill, titled the End Crypto Corruption Act, would prohibit the president, vice president, members of Congress, senior officials in the Executive Branch and their immediate families from financially benefiting from crypto assets. 

“Currently, people who wish to cultivate influence with the president can enrich him personally by buying cryptocurrency he owns or controls,” Merkley said in a statement. “This is a profoundly corrupt scheme. It endangers our national security and erodes public trust in government. Let’s end this corruption immediately.” 

The bill is cosponsored by 10 other Democrats, including Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland, who were the original cosponsors of the GENIUS Act.

On Wednesday, Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent, will hold a roundtable with crypto experts to highlight the GENIUS Act’s “serious risks” to the U.S. economy. 

The Trump family’s venture into crypto products has increased their wealth by billions in the last six months, according to a recent report, as his administration continues to loosen the federal government’s regulatory approach to the digital currency industry as a whole. 

The president’s crypto holdings now represent nearly 40% of his net worth — or approximately $2.9 billion. That increase is due in part to his release of the $TRUMP and $MELANIA meme coins, in addition to a large stake in World Liberty Financial, which launched in October 2024. 

In response to the criticism, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told CBS News in a statement that Mr. Trump’s “assets are in a trust managed by his children, and there are no conflicts of interest.” 

“Stablecoin legislation should be passed on a bipartisan basis. President Trump is dedicated to making America the crypto capital of the world and revolutionizing our digital financial technology,” she said. 

In a statement to CBS News last week, World Liberty said the Abu Dhabi deal represents the “single largest-ever investment in a crypto company” and sets a “historic precedent.” It did not respond to questions about how much the Trump family stands to make from the investment.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, is seeking records and documents about Mr. Trump’s crypto ventures from Fight Fight Fight LLC, the company that launched Mr. Trump’s meme coin, and World Liberty Financial. 

The senator sent letters to both companies on Tuesday requesting the records, including communications between both companies, the Trump Organization, the president, his administration and foreign governments.

contributed to this report.