Scoop: Dems mount 11th-hour push to block Trump on crypto
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Sens. Jeff Merkley and Chuck Schumer in April. Photo: Daniel Heuer/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Top Senate Democrats aren't relenting in their push to add guardrails for President Trump and others to landmark cryptocurrency legislation, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: 18 Democrats voted earlier this week to advance the bill. But sources familiar with the discussions say some of that support could slip unless the bill adds basic protections against corruption by public officials.
- Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) will file an amendment to the bill to prohibit the president and other officials from profiting from stablecoins.
- The GENIUS Act would establish the first regulatory framework for stablecoins.
- Democrats are pounding the table about Trump and his inner circle's lucrative crypto ventures, which lawmakers say are ripe for possible corruption.
The big picture: Democrats who have been leading the negotiations for the bill, like Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), said this week that the party should support the GENIUS Act despite concerns about the Trump family.
- "But we cannot allow that corruption to blind us to the broader reality: blockchain technology is here to stay," Warner said in a statement Monday.
- Schumer ultimately sided with the Democrats raising concerns about corruption, voting against moving forward with the legislation on the floor this week.
- The group of Democrats believe the GENIUS Act should not pass the Senate without the changes included in the amendment.
Between the lines: Schumer's backing of the amendment means it is likely to get a vote on the Senate floor when the GENIUS Act is debated after a scheduled recess next week.
- Sens. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) joined in co-sponsoring the amendment.
What they're saying: "Passing the GENIUS Act without our anti-corruption amendment stamps a Congressional seal of approval on Trump selling access and influence to the highest bidder," Merkley told Axios.
Go deeper: Congress erupts over Trump's billion-dollar crypto deal
