Despite a majority of U.S. senators voting on May 20 to advance a bill regarding payment stablecoins, senior Democrats plan to propose amendments to address President Trump's ties to the cryptocurrency industry.
According to a May 22 report from Axios, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senator Elizabeth Warren, and Jeff Merkley will propose amendments to the (U.S. Stablecoin Innovation and Establishment Act) (GENIUS Act) aimed at preventing the U.S. president from profiting from stablecoins. This proposal comes after 18 Democrats supported Republicans in advancing the bill on May 20, following a procedural vote on May 8 that failed.
“Passing the GENIUS Act without our anti-corruption amendment will give Trump permission to sell influence to the highest bidder,” Merkley said in a post on May 22.
Trump and his three sons are involved with the cryptocurrency platform World Liberty Financial (WLFI), which launched the USD1 stablecoin in March. Critics point out that the president could benefit from legislation endorsing stablecoins like USD1 as financial instruments.
An investment firm based in Abu Dhabi stated that it will use USD1 to settle a $2 billion investment on Binance, effectively allowing the president's family to profit from transaction fees. Democratic lawmakers have called for an investigation into Trump's relationship with the platform, but this request has been deemed 'flawed' by WLFI co-founder Zach Whetstone.
Democrats claim stablecoins are just one potential conflict.
Merkley and Warren also plan to address the dinner hosted at Trump’s golf club, which invited many prominent figures who purchased his personal memecoin. Merkley is expected to join protests organized by Public Citizen and the progressive political organization 'Our Revolution'.
Warren held a press conference demanding Trump “release the guest list for the dinner.” While some potential attendees openly admitted to holding memecoins and planning to attend, most remained anonymous.
“What happened tonight — this private secret dinner — gives those who once filled Trump’s pockets the chance to see him, possibly the most corrupt of all corruptions,” Murphy said, adding, “They were able to buy tickets to gain privileges from the president on national security.”
Cointelegraph reached out to the White House for comment, but no response was received by the time of publication.
