JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. — Despite growing bipartisan efforts to bring clear regulation to the digital asset industry, one main issue that stands in the way of passing legislation in the U.S. is President Donald Trump and his family’s actions in the sector, according to Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.)
“It’s no secret that my side of the aisle would prefer not to see any sitting President — I won’t name one — participating in this market while a sitting president unless those assets are in a sealed trust,” Craig said on stage at the SALT conference in Jackson Hole on Wednesday.
Trump, as well as his family, particularly Eric Trump, who was present at the venue during Craig’s appearance, have both built businesses in the industry, particularly since Trump retook office this past January.
Trump has issued several meme coins tied to his name and his social media platform, Truth Social, has applied for several exchange-traded funds. Eric Trump co-founded American Bitcoin, a mining company owned by Hut 8.
Craig, who was joined by Rep. Bryan Steil (R-Wi.), spoke on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act which the House passed with a massive bipartisan vote last month. The Senate Banking Committee is working on its own version of crypto market structure legislation.
While the majority of Republicans are in favor of the bill, many Democrats remain skeptical, and a big reason for that is the Trump family’s involvement in the industry, Craig said.
“The elephant in the room here is the President’s family’s participation in this marketplace and that’s a stumbling block to get more Democrats to support the legislation,” she said.
Craig said that while there is some language in the legislation that limits this conflict of interest, a stronger tone is needed to convince some lawmakers.
“If we could find some language that would allow or prevent conflicts of interest to occur, from our perspective, I think you would see a whole lot more Democrats support it,” she said.
Craig is the ranking member on the House Agriculture Committee, meaning she is the leading Democrat on that committee. This isn’t the first time she’s referenced the Trump family’s crypto tie-ups — during a committee hearing in June on the Clarity Act, she said his crypto actions were “making this debate more difficult” and suggested that Congress should add restrictions on how the U.S. president can trade in markets overseen by the CFTC, including crypto.
Despite her comments, Craig still voted to advance the Clarity Act without any such language being added.
Join the crypto policy conversation Sept. 10 in D.C. — Register now for CoinDesk: Policy & Regulation.
