On Monday, several Senate Democrats announced they would hold a press conference this week to express their opposition to Clarity and what they said is its “failure to curb President Donald Trump’s corrupt crypto schemes.” Senator Murphy will join Senators Chris Van Hollen and Jeff Merkley at that event on Capitol Hill, which will also highlight his claims that the crypto sector’s influence in Washington is causing “growing political corruption.”
One of the lawmakers involved in the ethics discussions, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., recently noted that Trump’s biggest income stream in 2025, $636 million, came from issuing the memecoin that bore his name. She said she and her fellow Democrats have been pushing to make it illegal for presidents to issue or sponsor digital assets.
“We cannot let self-dealing destroy an opportunity to strengthen consumer protections, crack down on illicit finance, and expand economic opportunity for the millions of Americans our financial system has left behind,” Gillibrand said in a statement. “The time to act is now, and that must include ethics reforms that prohibit members of Congress, the president, and their spouses from profiting from their office.”
Although Clarity would need many Democrats to join Republicans if its proponents want to reach the necessary 60-vote threshold for passage in the Senate, Gillibrand and other Democrats have said the bill cannot pass until this issue is resolved.
