Five Democratic senators have called for committee hearings “to examine the national security implications of President Trump’s ownership of cryptocurrencies” as the chamber considers legislation on digital asset market structure.
In Friday’s announcement, Democrats ranked members of five U.S. Senate committees and subcommittees he asked lawmakers were referring to President Donald Trump’s 2025 financial disclosures in which he reported he earned about $1.4 billion from crypto ventures such as his memecoin and family platform World Liberty Financial. Lawmakers said the reports “increase concerns that the president will pressure Congress to pass cryptocurrency legislation to benefit the very industry that profits it,” referring to the Digital Assets Transparency Act (CLARITY) that the Senate is expected to vote on this month.
“We urge our relevant committees to hold hearings to examine the national security implications of President Trump’s possession of cryptocurrencies, including the impact [United Arab Emirates] or unknown third parties to President Trump’s actions,” the notice reads.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, one of the Democrats who called for hearings on Trump’s ties to cryptocurrency, spoke to CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Thursday. Source: Richard Blumenthal
As minority members of both the Senate and House of Representatives, Democrats have less power to conduct their own hearings and oversight than Republicans. However, Senate rules require 60 votes to end a filibuster and advance a bill, meaning Republicans will need the support of some Democrats to pass CLARITY.
Related: Donald Trump says there’s “nothing wrong” with $1.4 billion in cryptocurrency windfall while in office
Some Republican senators, like Cynthia Lummis, To continue insist on passing CLARITY even if many Democrats signal they will withhold support without clear ethics rules. Rep. French Hill, who chairs the House Financial Services Committee and helped pass the bill in the House in 2025, he said that Trump’s connections made passing legislation “more complicated.”
The CBDC ban will become law after Trump refuses to sign the bill
The announcement from Democrats came just hours before a bill prohibiting the Federal Reserve from issuing or creating a central bank digital currency (CBDC) through December 31, 2030, is scheduled to go into effect on Saturday. Trump canceled the signing ceremony of a bipartisan housing bill that included a CBDC ban and did not veto the bill, leaving the measure in place to automatically become law after 10 days.
Warehouse: The Crypto CLARITY Act faces a partisan ethics fight in the Senate
