Democrats on the Senate Agriculture Committee said Republicans have derailed negotiations on a US crypto market structure bill after advancing a party-line draft that passed committee despite unanimous Democratic opposition.
All 11 Democrats voted against the bill at Thursday’s markup while 12 Republicans supported it, allowing the legislation to advance even as Democrats warned it lacks the bipartisan backing needed to pass the Senate.
“To be clear, the product put before us today is not the bipartisan draft we’re working on,”
Said Cory Booker, adding that Republicans cutting off talks is “undermining our ability to get it done”.
Democrats said their support hinges on ethics provisions that would bar the president and other federal officials from profiting from crypto, which they described as a red line in negotiations.
“The White House has made this infinitely harder,”
Booker said, blaming the Trump administration and Donald Trump’s own crypto ties for the breakdown in talks.
“It’s going to need to include ethics language,”
Said Adam Schiff, arguing restrictions should apply “from the president on down,” a stance echoed by Elissa Slotkin.
Committee chair John Boozman said he still wants a bipartisan outcome and suggested Democrats could add amendments later, though Republicans voted down three Democratic proposals at the markup.