Dem lawmakers object to hearing, citing 'Trump’s crypto corruption'

Democratic leadership walked out of a joint hearing on digital assets, claiming that Republican lawmakers were not addressing Donald Trump’s conflicts of interest.

Representative Maxine Waters, ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee (HFSC), led 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, Rep. Waters remained standing while addressing Republican leadership, saying she intended to block proceedings due to Donald Trump’s corruption, “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 Rep. Waters’ and Democrats’ concerns about Trump’s involvement with the crypto industry. He claimed Waters was making the hearing a partisan issue and shutting down discussion on a digital asset regulatory framework.

Rep. Waters’ objection and leading members of Congress opposed to Trump’s “crypto corruption” 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 and offer to have top tokenholders attend an exclusive dinner, his family backing the firm World Liberty Financial, and an Abu Dhabi-based investment firm using the platform’s USD1 stablecoin to settle a $2 billion investment in Binance.

Related: US stablecoin bill loses democrats amid Trump corruption concerns