Trump's Cryptocurrency Play Sparks Backlash From Senators, Leading to Bill to Ban Presidential Memcoins
Democratic Senator Chris Murphy has proposed a bill that would prevent senior government officials in the administration and Congress from promoting financial assets, including cryptocurrency.
Jesse Hamilton | Edited by Nikhilesh De May 6, 2025, 2:30 PM
What you need to know:
- Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, a Democrat, has introduced a bill that would prohibit senior government officials from promoting financial assets, including cryptocurrency.
- Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, discussed possible steps in her speech that would allow Democrats to resume work on stablecoin legislation.
- Both lawmakers expressed frustration with what they described as corruption in the White House.
President Donald Trump's personal involvement in the cryptocurrency sector has sparked intense opposition from Senate Democrats, leading to a new bill from Senator Chris Murphy that would ban presidents and their associates from engaging in memecoins or issuing other financial assets.
While the Connecticut senator introduced the Modern Emoluments and Malice (MEME) Act on Monday, his colleague Elizabeth Warren delivered a Senate floor speech on Monday discussing how to bring her party’s senators back to discuss stablecoin legislation. In just a few short days, Democrats have begun pushing back against the digital asset industry’s growing influence in Washington.
Murphy’s efforts, backed by a bill from Representative Sam Liccardo, a California Democrat, target the president’s $TRUMP memocoin and the controversial ways in which Trump and his family appear to be profiting financially from its launch just before his inauguration. The senator said it’s impossible to determine who is purchasing the coin and how it is enriching Trump. Last week, Eric Trump, one of the president’s children, announced that an Abu Dhabi investment firm would use the Trump-backed stablecoin World Liberty Financial to complete a $2 billion investment in global cryptocurrency exchange Binance.
“The Trump meme is the single most corrupt act ever committed by a president,” Murphy said in a statement Tuesday. “Donald Trump is essentially giving access to his Venmo to any billionaire CEO or foreign oligarch so they can secretly wire him millions of dollars in exchange for favors.”
His bill goes beyond just the president and his memecoin, seeking to ban the president, vice president, members of Congress, senior administration officials, and any members of their families from issuing, sponsoring, or endorsing any financial asset — including securities, futures, commodities, and digital assets. The Democrat's bill is unlikely to pass under a Republican majority, but it is a clear response from the party to T
Источник
