{"id":32214,"date":"2026-07-23T19:39:38","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T19:39:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/?p=32214"},"modified":"2026-07-23T19:39:38","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T19:39:38","slug":"trumps-crypto-corruption-puts-centrist-democrats-in-bind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/?p=32214","title":{"rendered":"Trump\u2019s Crypto Corruption Puts Centrist Democrats in Bind"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span class=\"has-underline\">The latest version<\/span> of a sweeping crypto bill exposed a deep divide between progressives and moderate Senate Democrats: whether to accommodate the industry ahead of the fall midterms, or declare open war on it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Seven Democrats issued a statement Wednesday night lamenting that they cannot vote for the latest draft of the bill, citing weak provisions aimed at tamping down Donald Trump\u2019s crypto self-enrichment, among other issues. In a joint statement, they <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cortezmasto.senate.gov\/news\/press-releases\/50183-2\/\">pledged<\/a> to keep working with Republicans to \u201cget this over the finish line.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Other Democrats say they have had enough of crypto, however. The problems with the bill run much deeper than Trump\u2019s corruption, Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said at a Wednesday speech, and it is time for Democrats to openly break with the industry and its $189 million in <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2026\/05\/18\/super-pac-election-spending-midterms-aipac-ai-crypto\/\">campaign funds<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis bill is in front of the Senate because the industry paid for it,\u201d Murphy said. \u201cWe should, in this election, make crypto\u2019s purchase of our political process, AI\u2019s purchase of our political process, a major campaign issue.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-right\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cThis bill is in front of the Senate because the industry paid for it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The two sides staked out their position as Republicans released a draft text of the far-reaching bill known as the Clarity Act, which would create an industry-friendly regulatory structure for cryptocurrencies.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Critics say there are many problems with the bill, including lax consumer protections and loopholes that would enable money laundering. Nothing in the monthslong fight over the legislation has generated as much controversy as Trump\u2019s self-dealing, however.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Between the $TRUMP <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2025\/04\/25\/briefing-podcast-trump-crypto-meme-coin\/\">meme coin<\/a> and other <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2025\/08\/09\/trump-crypto-billionaire-accountable\/\">ventures<\/a>, Trump profited at least <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2026\/07\/13\/gillibrand-crypto-trump-profit-clarity-act\/\">$1.4 billion<\/a> off crypto last year. Democrats have proposed requiring Trump to divest himself of his crypto ventures and put enforcement in the hands of Democratic state attorneys general.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Instead, Republicans issued a proposal, with Trump\u2019s blessing, that would prevent him from issuing new meme coins and put enforcement in the hands of his own Department of Justice and would not be enforceable after he leaves office.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">No matter what\u2019s in the legislation, the bill is meaningless if it leaves enforcement to Trump\u2019s own administration, said Mark Hays, the associate director for cryptocurrency and financial technology at Americans for Financial Reform and Demand Progress.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI don\u2019t think anybody who is following the DOJ seriously thinks they will do that,\u201d he said. \u201cThat is just not how this administration works.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- END-BLOCK(cta)[0] --><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Even Sen. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat who has often <a href=\"https:\/\/www.standwithcrypto.org\/politicians\/person\/adam---schiff\">sided with crypto in the past<\/a>, said he opposes the language in the bill addressing Trump. Schiff told reporters at the Capitol that that text gives the appearance it applies to Trump and his family without actually doing so.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s a complete nonstarter,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The bill\u2019s flaws led the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2026\/07\/22\/democrats-crypto-booker-clarity-act-01009115\">seven mostly centrist Democrats<\/a> to issue a statement hours after the release of the draft text saying that they could not vote for it in its current form.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cKey provisions including those addressing ethics for elected officials, consumer protection, illicit finance, conflicts of interest and market integrity must be strengthened. We have been working in good faith with our Republican colleagues for the past year and will continue doing so to get this over the finish line,\u201d said the group, which included Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md., one of the top negotiators on the bill.<\/p>\n<div class=\"newsletter-embed flex-col items-center print:hidden\" id=\"third-party--article-mid\" data-module=\"InlineNewsletter\" data-module-source=\"web_intercept_20241230_Inline_Signup_Replacement\">\n<div class=\"-mx-5 sm:-mx-10 p-5 sm:px-10 xl:-ml-5 lg:mr-0 xl:px-5 bg-accentLight hidden\" data-name=\"subscribed\">\n<h2 class=\"font-sans font-light uppercase text-[30px] leading-8 text-white tracking-[0.01em] mb-0\">\n      We\u2019re independent of corporate interests \u2014 and powered by members. Join us.    <\/h2>\n<p>    <a href=\"https:\/\/join.theintercept.com\/donate\/now\/?referrer_post_id=520585&amp;referrer_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftheintercept.com%2F2026%2F07%2F23%2Ftrump-crypto-conflict-clarity-act-democrats%2F&amp;source=web_intercept_20241230_Inline_Signup_Replacement\" class=\"border border-white !text-white font-mono uppercase p-5 inline-flex items-center gap-3 hover:bg-white hover:!text-accentLight focus:bg-white focus:!text-accentLight\" data-name=\"donateCTA\" data-action=\"handleDonate\"><br \/>\n      Become a member      <span class=\"font-icons icon-TI_Arrow_02_Right\"\/><br \/>\n    <\/a>\n  <\/div>\n<div class=\"group default w-full px-5 hidden\" data-name=\"unsubscribed\">\n<div class=\"px-5 border-[10px] border-accentLight\">\n<div class=\"bg-white -my-2.5 relative block px-4 md:px-5\">\n<h2 class=\"font-sans font-body text-[30px] font-bold tracking-[0.01em] leading-8 mb-0 xl:text-[37px] xl:leading-[39px]\">\n          <span class=\"group-[.subscribed]:hidden\"><br \/>\n            Join Our Newsletter          <\/span><br \/>\n          <span class=\"group-[.default]:hidden\"><br \/>\n            Thank You For Joining!          <\/span><br \/>\n        <\/h2>\n<p class=\"text-[27px] mb-3.5 font-bold text-accentLight tracking-[0.01em] leading-[29px] font-sans xl:text-[37px] xl:leading-[39px]\">\n          <span class=\"group-[.subscribed]:hidden\"><br \/>\n            Original reporting. Fearless journalism. Delivered to you.          <\/span><br \/>\n          <span class=\"group-[.default]:hidden\"><br \/>\n            Will you take the next step to support our independent journalism by becoming a member of The Intercept?          <\/span>\n        <\/p>\n<p>        <a href=\"https:\/\/join.theintercept.com\/donate\/now\/?referrer_post_id=520585&amp;referrer_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftheintercept.com%2F2026%2F07%2F23%2Ftrump-crypto-conflict-clarity-act-democrats%2F&amp;source=web_intercept_20241230_Inline_Signup_Replacement\" class=\"group-[.default]:hidden border border-accentLight text-accentLight font-sans px-5 py-3.5 inline-flex items-center gap-3 text-[20px] font-bold\" data-action=\"handleDonate\"><br \/>\n          Become a member          <span class=\"font-icons icon-TI_Arrow_02_Right\"\/><br \/>\n        <\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"font-sans text-accentLight text-[10px] leading-[13px] text-balance [&amp;_a]:text-accentLight [&amp;_a]:font-bold [&amp;_a:hover]:underline group-[.subscribed]:hidden\">\n<p>By signing up, I agree to receive emails from The Intercept and to the <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/privacy-policy\/\">Privacy Policy<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/terms-use\/\">Terms of Use<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- END-BLOCK(newsletter)[0] --><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The time for Democrats and Republicans to reach a compromise is slipping fast, however. The Senate goes into recess on August 7, and few observers expect Congress to take the measure up again as the midterms approach.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Senate Majority Leader John Thune <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2026\/07\/22\/senate-crypto-bill-would-ban-federal-officials-from-issuing-digital-assets.html\">said<\/a> that he hopes to put the measure to a vote before senators leave town.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Democrats are nervously eying the industry\u2019s war chest if they are put on the record as opposing the Clarity Act. Companies including Coinbase, the largest publicly traded crypto company, have contributed $189 million into super PACs and candidate campaign funds to influence the midterms.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the past, some of the spending has benefited Democrats such as <a href=\"https:\/\/influence.citationneeded.news\/2024\/elections\/AZ-S\">Sen. Ruben Gallego<\/a>, D-Ariz. Yet it may have also contributed to <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2024\/11\/07\/crypto-donors-trump-congress-regulations\/\">Democrats losing the Senate in 2024.<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Murphy, in the Wednesday speech at the Center for American Progress, said it would be better to attack the industry than try to work with it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThey are spending money in order to get a pro-crypto bill passed through the United States Senate and House of Representatives,\u201d Murphy said. \u201cAnd there are, I guess, two approaches that the Democratic Party could take. One approach is to just do what the crypto industry wants and then cross our fingers and hope they don\u2019t spend money against us in the next election. Good luck with that strategy. The second approach is to make the industry\u2019s brazen attempts to buy our political process a campaign issue.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>#Trumps #Crypto #Corruption #Puts #Centrist #Democrats #Bind<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The latest version of a sweepi&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32215,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[246],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32214"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=32214"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32214\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/32215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=32214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=32214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=32214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}