Before the key procedural vote, Democratic senators effectively refused to adopt the ethical provisions in the new version of the bill. Republicans called the text “final and conclusive,” incorporated 126 amendments proposed by Democrats, and added new rules on conflicts of interest—but it still wasn’t enough.
The main complaint concerns Trump’s crypto assets. According to critics, the president’s family earned anywhere from hundreds of millions to a billion dollars from crypto businesses while he was in office. Existing projects, meanwhile, would remain exempt from the restrictions; the rules apply only to future transactions. The ban on sponsorship and promotion for compensation also, according to Democrats, leaves loopholes, as it doesn’t address connections with private crypto companies.
There’s also disagreement over the enforcement mechanism. State attorneys general have been given the right to file lawsuits, but such a lawsuit could unilaterally halt the federal Office of Government Ethics, headed by someone from the administration’s team. Senator Mark Warner explicitly stated that the proposed rules are “far from sufficient,” and Democrats are preparing their own counterproposal.
Republicans emphasize that Trump voluntarily agreed to roughly 80% of the demands and signed up for the strictest restrictions in history. Lummis warns: by blocking the law, Democrats are also blocking the entire ethics reform itself.
A minimum of 60 votes is needed to pass the bill, and Republicans currently don’t have enough. Banking associations are also speaking out against it separately, arguing that the law won’t protect against a massive exodus of deposits into stablecoins.
BTC has retraced all its gains (-2%)