Senate Democrats Block Crypto Bill Over Trump Family Ties

The Senate Banking Committee Democrats have introduced a bill that would ban bank regulators from approving charter applications closely linked to the president. The move comes after the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency conditionally approved a national trust charter application for World Liberty Financial, a crypto company controlled by the Trump family.

The legislation is unlikely to gain any Republican support in this Congress, but its cosigners include Sens. Ruben Gallego and Angela Alsobrooks, who are leading negotiations for Democrats on the crypto market structure bill, CLARITY Act. They've expressed concerns about President Donald Trump's conflicts of interest in the sector.

Gallego and Alsobrooks have said they won't vote in favor of the CLARITY Act unless it includes enforceable restrictions on the president's ability to profit from the crypto industry. They're pushing for state attorneys general to be given power to enforce these ethics provisions, as they fear that the Department of Justice won't be able to effectively police the White House.