Senate Republicans want to rein in President Donald Trump\u2019s income explosion since returning to the White House, but Democrats aren\u2019t sold on how they\u2019re going to do it.
\nThe Senate is on the cusp of moving landmark cryptocurrency legislation known as the Clarity Act that, if passed, proponents say would finally fold the novel currency into the nation\u2019s web of financial regulations.
\nTucked away in the over 600-page package are a slate of ethics provisions that target Trump, the vice president and their spouses. The White House signed off on the provisions, and the architects of the bill say that the restrictions reach beyond just Trump and target lawmakers, too.
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But for now, it\u2019s not enough for Senate Democrats.
\n\u201cSomeone can call it an ethics provision,\u201d Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said. \u201cBut if it doesn\u2019t stop the president from profiting off of crypto, and using it as a way to take bribes right out in public. Then it\u2019s not really any expedition.
\nThe list of guardrails included preventing federal officials from creating their own digital currency for profit, promoting or endorsing crypto, creating a divestiture or blind trust requirement one year after enactment, allowing officials to own crypto and a disclosure of crypto sales.
\nSen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., who has led the effort on the Clarity Act, told Fox News\u2019 Maria Bartiromo that the idea isn\u2019t to \u201cplan legislation around one person who holds one office for the next two years, but rather, over time, that will serve the House, the Senate, the judiciary, and the executive branch in a fair way.\u201d
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\u201cThe struggle is, of course, a lot of Democrats are absolutely focused on one person, and that\u2019s President Trump,\u201d Lummis said. \u201cSo since President Trump actually agreed that he would have the choice to either put his assets in a blind trust, or divest of his participation in digital assets and companies that derive revenue from digital assets, somehow, that\u2019s not enough.\u201d
\nThere are other gripes with the package, but the ethics provisions are proving a sharp red line. That\u2019s because Trump\u2019s income between 2024 and 2025 erupted by about 250% \u2014 from just over $620 million to about $2.2 billion.
\nAnd much of that increase is attributed to his various holdings and ventures in crypto, which are run by his sons, Don Jr. and Eric, according to the president\u2019s financial disclosure forms reviewed by Fox News Digital.
\nTrump\u2019s income shot up by $1.4 billion during his first year in office thanks to earnings from the $TRUMP memecoin, World Liberty Financial token sales and Stablecoin Holdco, among others.
\nSen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, who alongside Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., worked with the White House to draft the ethics provisions, said that the \u201cbehavior\u201d that was being targeted was issuance, promotion, and sponsorship of crypto.
\n\u201cAgain, a very different standard than Nancy Pelosi was held to,\u201d Moreno said.
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When asked about Democrats already raising issues with the provisions, Moreno told Fox News Digital, \u201cThey\u2019re always obsessed with putting things into the base bill, just offer an amendment.\u201d
\n\u201cThat\u2019s the way this place was built, you know, let\u2019s put the base bill out there,\u201d he said. \u201cThe ethics piece is this much of the bill \u2014 Tiny bit \u2014 just offer an amendment.\u201d
\nDemocrats have noted that the ethics provisions don\u2019t specifically target his sons, meaning that the Trump family crypto empire, which has heavily benefited from his name and time in office, would be left largely unchecked.
\nThey also put sole enforcement power into the hands of Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, a close ally of Trump\u2019s, and are set to sunset on Jan. 20, 2029, when Trump will have left office.
\nSen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., told Fox News Digital that he still has \u201ca lot of ethics concerns, and there\u2019s still work to do.\u201d
\n\u201cThis is the partisan draft. It\u2019s very obviously not going anywhere,\u201d Booker said. \u201cIf there\u2019s only one pathway to do this it\u2019s doing (it in) a bipartisan manner. There are enough of us on both sides of the aisle that we should be able to land this. It\u2019s good faith negotiations.\u201d
\nThe objections to the bill, for now, appear to be slowing its roll through the Senate as the upper chamber sprints to a monthlong break in August, and deals with a shrinking window of opportunity to finish legislation before the year is out.
\nSenate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., had hoped to get the Clarity Act on the floor next week, but acknowledged that might not be possible.
\n\u201cI don\u2019t think we\u2019ll be able to get it done, but I would like to at least get Clarity started,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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