Citing Trump Crypto Fortune, US Democrats Try to Derail Bill to Regulate Digital Assets

Congressional Democrats are using the sudden surge in crypto wealth accumulated by U.S. President Donald Trump as a rallying cry to defeat legislation that would create a new regulatory landscape for the digital currency industry.

The Senate is scheduled to take a procedural vote Tuesday on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, which if passed by both legislative chambers would set new rules to govern the growing crypto sector. The procedural vote is needed for the Senate to debate the measure.

In a bid to peel off some Democrats, Republican Party leaders in Congress over the weekend incorporated ethics provisions that would prevent any U.S. president or other government officials from issuing digital assets.

“It purports to prevent conflicts of interest and corruption by the president of the United States. It is a charade. It is a sham. It should prompt a no vote by every member of the United States Senate,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat.

Blumenthal was speaking the day before the procedural vote at a “shadow hearing” he had organized along with Rep. Robert Garcia, a California Democrat, to discuss the Trump family’s enrichment while in office. While much of the hearing allowed Democrats to raise points they will campaign on in November elections, the senator and witnesses took special aim at the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act.