US Representative Maxine Waters, ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee (HFSC), led some Democratic lawmakers out of a joint hearing on digital assets in response to what she called “the corruption of the President of the United States” concerning cryptocurrencies.
In a May 6 joint hearing of the HFSC and House Committee on Agriculture, Waters remained standing while addressing Republican leadership, saying she intended to block proceedings due to US President Donald Trump’s “ownership of crypto” and oversight of government agencies. Digital asset subcommittee Chair Bryan Steil, seemingly taking advantage of a loophole in committee rules, said Republican lawmakers would continue with the event as a “roundtable” rather than a hearing.
HFSC Chair French Hill urged lawmakers at the hearing to create a “lasting framework” on digital assets, but did not directly address any of Waters’ and Democrats’ concerns about Trump’s involvement with the crypto industry. Hill said Waters was making the hearing a partisan issue and shutting down discussion on a digital asset regulatory framework.
Waters’ objection and leading members of Congress opposed to Trump’s crypto ties to a shadow hearing was part of a strategy announced by the Democratic lawmaker on May 5.
Amid his 2024 campaign and once taking office in January, Trump has faced criticism for the launch of his memecoin, a recent offer to have top tokenholders attend an exclusive dinner, and his family’s ties to the crypto platform World Liberty Financial.
Competing bills to regulate crypto, ban government officials from owning it
The “roundtable” led by Republicans moved forward, discussing the crypto market structure framework that the party’s leadership proposed on May 5. Meanwhile, Democrats in the shadow hearing released a draft of legislation “to establish certain digital asset prohibitions with respect to Government officers and employees,” specifically naming the president, vice president, members of Congress, and their immediate families. The bill proposed banning all covered individuals from owning crypto, serving as leadership for a digital asset issuer, or receiving compensation through the sale or trading of crypto.
The hearing and efforts by Democrats to “hold [Trump] accountable” could slow or outright halt progress to pass the market structure bill. In the Senate, a group of Democrats pulled support for a stablecoin bill after raising concerns about corruption by the president and his family.
Some Republican lawmakers, including Hill, have pushed back on Trump’s connections to the crypto industry. The Arkansas lawmaker reportedly said in March that the Trump family’s involvement makes crypto legislation “more complicated,” while Senators Cynthia Lummis and Lisa Murkowski were reportedly critical of the president’s memecoin dinner.
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