Senate Republicans and President Donald Trump are attempting to jam the House again. This time, it’s all about cryptocurrency.
The looming conflict, like the megabill saga, is over how large and how soon Hill Republicans should fulfill one of Trump’s most famous campaign promises. In this instance, the emphasis lies on Trump’s commitment to establishing the United States as the global hub for cryptocurrency.
The Senate enacted a bipartisan bill last month to bolster a certain segment of the crypto ecosystem—so-called stablecoins—but the House GOP is now debating whether to go farther. It’s preparing for a full-fledged “crypto week” to make its case when House lawmakers return next Monday.
House Republicans, who spent years developing crypto legislation that Senate Democrats refused to touch, want to vote on the Senate stablecoin measure as well as a broader “market structure” plan to alter securities and commodities regulations governing crypto trade.The main obstacle for House Republicans is that Trump and Senate Republicans are opposed to changing the stablecoin bill or utilizing it as a vehicle to take a broader stance on crypto policy. Trump expresses his desire for a swift passage of a “clean” version of the law, but key GOP senators have indicated that they will not vote on a market structure change until September.
Senate Republicans believe it would be nearly impossible to persuade Democrats to adopt a revised stablecoin measure.
“For me to get eight or nine Democrats to vote for something here is extraordinarily difficult to do,” said Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), the lead sponsor of the Senate stablecoin bill, known as the GENIUS Act.
House GOP leaders said last week they won’t try to merge that legislation with their larger overhaul, but they haven’t said if they’ll change the bill. House Financial Services Chair French Hill’s massive market structure bill, the centerpiece of the House GOP’s crypto drive, is also the topic of last-minute negotiations among House legislators before next week’s floor vote.
