Elizabeth Warren and four Senate Democrats are pressing Congress to investigate President Donald Trump’s cryptocurrency holdings and business ties before the Senate advances the CLARITY Act. Their joint statement says Trump’s latest financial disclosures raise national security and conflict-of-interest questions at the same moment lawmakers are closing in on a bill that would reshape U.S. digital asset regulation.
The statement was signed by Warren, Richard Blumenthal, Gary Peters, Dick Durbin and Ron Wyden. Citing Trump’s newest disclosure, the senators said the president’s family crypto ventures produced about $1.4 billion in income. They also said unidentified third parties still hold stakes in the Trump family’s World Liberty Financial project. In their view, those financial ties should face closer scrutiny before Congress moves the legislation ahead.
Ethics language has become a central fight
Warren separately renewed her call to add explicit ethics restrictions to the CLARITY Act. In a post on X, she said the bill should bar the president, vice president, members of Congress, senior administration officials and their immediate families from profiting from cryptocurrency ventures while in office. She described Trump’s crypto business interests as corruption and argued that Congress should address conflicts of interest directly in the legislation.
Trump has previously brushed off criticism tied to the disclosures, saying he was unaware of the reported crypto income and maintaining that nothing illegal was involved. Democrats argue the disclosures matter because they come while the administration supports crypto legislation and also pursues regulatory changes that affect the sector. They say the concern extends to efforts that would exempt parts of the industry from existing financial rules and weaken enforcement tools.
Revised CLARITY draft is still being negotiated
Senate negotiators are still reworking the CLARITY Act by merging proposals from the Banking and Agriculture committees. Earlier reporting said the combined draft is expected to run more than 70 pages and include stronger consumer protections along with changes worked out in recent weeks. The Senate is aiming for floor consideration during the week of July 20, leaving limited time before the chamber’s August recess.
The dispute goes beyond ethics. Law enforcement groups have warned that language covering DeFi could make illicit finance investigations harder, giving senators another unresolved issue before any vote. At the same time, Ron Wyden urged Senate leaders John Thune and Chuck Schumer to keep Section 604, known as the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act, in the final package. In his letter, Wyden argued that non-custodial blockchain developers should retain legal protections.
Regulator vacancies and industry turnover add pressure
The White House has also rejected claims that it is refusing to nominate Democratic commissioners to the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. In a letter to Thune and Schumer, the administration said it had asked for qualified Democratic nominees for both agencies but had not received any names. The issue carries extra weight because those regulators are expected to oversee large parts of the crypto market if the CLARITY Act becomes law.
A separate development came from the private sector. Coinbase said Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal will step down on July 31. His departure lands only days before the Senate is expected to resume work on the CLARITY Act, putting a major legal leadership change in the crypto industry alongside a critical stretch for U.S. digital asset legislation.