Congress
Capitol agenda: Crypto chaos hits the Senate
The GOP’s tax cut megabill isn’t the only one of President Donald Trump’s priorities in jeopardy on Capitol Hill. Republicans have an unexpected crypto problem, too.
Crypto turmoil is unfolding in the Senate after nine key Democrats led by Sen. Ruben Gallego said this weekend that they would oppose GOP-led legislation that would carve out new rules for so-called stablecoins.
The Democrats’ surprise shift is an urgent problem for Senate Republicans, who are trying to expedite a floor vote on the bill by late May and give Trump a big, beautiful crypto bill to sign soon.
Why does it matter? The crypto fight is one of the first major tests of Republicans’ ability to work across the aisle in the second Trump era. Unlike budget reconciliation, GOP senators need Democrats to overcome a Senate filibuster.
It’s also a big test for Democrats, who have long been deeply divided over the risks and rewards of cryptocurrency trading. Sen. Elizabeth Warren is trying to stop her colleagues from following the lead of Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, the stablecoin bill’s lead Democratic co-sponsor.
It comes after the crypto industry grew its influence by dumping tens of millions of dollars into congressional races last year.
What went wrong? The nine Senate Democrats — including four who backed an earlier version of the bill in committee in March — blasted changes that Republicans made in the last several days and said the latest proposal would allow stablecoins to pose too many risks to the financial system. Among the Democrats who signed on: Sens. Mark Warner, Lisa Blunt Rochester and Andy Kim.
Several Democratic senators raised concerns at a closed-door caucus meeting last Thursday about advancing an industry-backed crypto bill as the Trump family tries to build its own crypto empire. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer urged Democrats not to commit to supporting the stablecoin bill, saying they should use their leverage to force additional changes to the legislation.
What’s next? GOP aides involved in talks say they were stunned by the Democrats’ statement Saturday but remain hopeful that there is still a path forward. And if the stablecoin legislation clears the Senate in the coming weeks, it would need to be reconciled with a separate but similar bill that is awaiting a floor vote in the House.
Internal GOP tensions could also emerge if House Republicans try to take a bigger swing at crypto by packaging the stablecoin effort with a broader regulatory revamp that would overhaul how the SEC and CFTC police crypto trading. Senate leaders including Banking Chair Tim Scott want to notch a win by first passing the stablecoin bill — long seen as the “low-hanging fruit” of crypto policy — and taking up the broader revamp later.
What else we’re watching:
— Big, beautiful bill problems: Speaker Mike Johnson has major policy clashes to resolve this week before House Republicans can move ahead with key committee votes on Trump’s big domestic policy bill, including on Medicaid, food aid and tax. The pressure is on with Senate Republicans watching and poised to scale things back.
— Thune’s EV decision: Senate Majority Leader John Thune needs to make a call on whether to nix a waiver that lets California set stricter car emissions standards rules after the House voted to do so last week. The GAO found that the waiver doesn’t fall under the scope of the Congressional Review Act, and the Senate parliamentarian is backing up that decision. But some GOP senators see a potential path forward in targeting the GAO’s role instead.
— New drug cost bill: Sens. Josh Hawley and Peter Welch are teaming up on legislation that would bar drug companies in the U.S. from charging higher prices than the international average. The bill is different than the pharmaceutical industry crackdown that the Trump administration is proposing to help finance the GOP budget reconciliation bill, but underscores the bipartisan and populist interest in targeting the drug companies.
Jordain Carney, Meredith Lee Hill, Lisa Kashinsky, Ben Leonard and Mia McCarthy contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump said voters may seek to punish Republicans — but not him — in the November midterm elections, as GOP lawmakers sweat that affordability concerns and the war in Iran could mean Democrats flip the House and perhaps even the Senate.
“They’re angry at Republicans,” Trump said in an interview with Punchbowl News that aired Friday. “But they’re not angry at me. They’re not angry at me, but they are angry at Republicans.”
The GOP faces the prospect of heavy losses this November, as gas and grocery prices remain stubbornly high due in part to the White House’s five-month-long war in Iran. The administration’s guidance on campaign trail messaging has been “tone deaf,” House Republicans fear.
Meanwhile, the president’s approval rating has tumbled since he returned to the Oval Office last year, and even his biggest supporters have grown frustrated over his Middle East war.
And with a messy, jam-packed slate of primaries now all but in the rearview mirror, Democrats are determined to go on offense. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has 58 seats on its midterm target map that stretches into redder territory — while still facing an uphill climb to take the Senate.
Trump has a massive war chest at his disposal. His MAGA Inc. super PAC reached $400 million in June. The president told Punchbowl he plans to use it to “help Republicans,” but he stressed that he faces no pressure in this campaign cycle.
“I said to somebody, ‘Wait a minute, you don’t understand, I won,’” Trump said, referencing his 2024 presidential election victory. “I’m not campaigning.”
The biggest issue for Republicans this year? That Trump himself is not on the ballot, he said.
“If I don’t run, will those people go out and vote? And that’s the one thing I can’t tell, I’m going to ask them to,” he said.
The Senate’s plan to get out of town is coming together.
Majority Leader John Thune teed up a final vote on the Russia sanctions legislation for this morning, as well as a confirmation vote for dozens of nominees and a procedural step on a stopgap funding bill.
But there’s still a number of questions that need to be answered if Thune wants to adjourn for recess by the end of the day:
— BLANCHE’S FATE: President Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general needs to secure at least one more vote to be confirmed before the break.
It looks like it’s all up to Sen. Bill Cassidy after Sen. Lisa Murkowski announced Friday morning she is opposed. Thune indicated Thursday night Blanche’s fate was uncertain and that leaders were “still working to get the final vote.”
— SAVE AMERICA ACT: Thune said to expect a vote related to the SAVE America Act as well as an initial vote on a budget blueprint for a third party-line spending bill — which includes elements of Trump’s election security legislation.
The decision to hold the budget vote comes after two Republican senators, granted anonymity to speak candidly, told Blue Light News Thursday they believed Sen. Mike Lee or another member of the GOP’s right flank would have otherwise forced a vote on the framework.
But as we’ve previously reported, Republicans don’t believe the budget resolution has the votes within the conference to be adopted — meaning the expected initial vote today will fail to clear a simple majority threshold.
And it’s not clear Lee or like-minded senators will be satisfied and allow for lawmakers to adjourn for recess without more action on the elections measure. The senator has made similar threats over the past year but has never followed through.
— TIME AGREEMENT: GOP leaders need to strike an agreement to finish other business, including passing the stopgap government funding bill and advancing a college sports bill.
At this point, any single senator could still object to expediting the chamber’s agenda, which would derail Thune’s goal of getting members out of town by the end of the day.
“We’ve been having these conversations with Democrats trying to figure out what’s the path,” Thune said.
“We’ll see how it goes,” he added.
What else we’re watching:
— GOP EXPECTS CRYPTO BILL DELAY: The Senate will leave for the chamber’s August recess without holding a vote on a landmark cryptocurrency bill, according to three people with knowledge of the matter. Thune may still file cloture on the bill, but it likely won’t come to the floor until lawmakers return to Washington next month, two of the people said.
— COLLEGE SPORTS BILL STUMBLES: Sens. Ted Cruz and Maria Cantwell’s legislation to impose new guardrails on college sports is looking increasingly unlikely to hit the floor this week. Eleven senators objected to expedited consideration of the Protect College Sports Act after Thune filed cloture earlier this week, two people familiar with discussions told Blue Light News.
— OGLES OUSTED: GOP House leaders lost an incumbent — and a perennial headache — with Rep. Andy Ogles’ primary defeat in Tennessee Thursday night. His loss to former Tennessee Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Hatcher represents the second Trump-endorsed candidate to lose a primary this week.
Jordain Carney, Mia McCarthy, Andrew Howard and Jacob Wendler contributed to this report.
Todd Blanche’s attorney general nomination is on the brink after Sen. Lisa Murkowski announced Friday that she would oppose confirming him.
The Alaska Republican said in a statement that she did not believe Blanche, who has been serving as acting attorney general since April, would act to rein in President Donald Trump and reverse the “politicization—even weaponization” of the Justice Department that has “accelerated” under Trump.
“The country needs an Attorney General who will check the worst impulses of this administration,” she said. “I hope Mr. Blanche is able to achieve that, if confirmed, but I simply do not have confidence that will be the case.”
Blanche’s fate is now thought to come down to Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who has been increasingly critical of the president since losing his renomination campaign to a Trump-backed Republican earlier this year.
Cassidy met with Blanche alongside Murkowski Wednesday afternoon but hasn’t yet said how he will vote. Blanche has to win his support in order to be confirmed, given unified opposition from Democrats and opposition from Murkowski and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine).
The extended absence of Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky for health reasons has also left Republicans short of a vote.
Murkowski cited Blanche’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files and the settlement agreement reached between Trump and the IRS under his watch as well as DOJ’s “repeated targeting” of Trump’s political enemies.
Senate Republicans rejecting Blanche would be a significant blow to Trump, who has pressured GOP senators to support Blanche over the past week as his nomination has been in limbo. And it would come as he’s already fuming at the conference, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, over their inability to end the legislative filibuster and pass the elections bill known as the SAVE America Act.
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