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Senate Democrats Challenge GOP on Ethics in Crypto Market Structure Bill

Crypto

Business Honor
30 January, 2026

Concerns about President Trump's crypto ventures spark calls for ethical guidelines and bipartisan cooperation in legislation.

The Senate Democrats are accusing their Republican counterparts of walking away from months' worth of bipartisan discussions as it pertains to the Senate's Agriculture Committee's consideration of a comprehensive crypto market structure bill. At a recent business meeting, committee members voted on party lines to advance the bill to the Senate floor with a 12-11 vote, and not one Democrat voting for it.

Concerned about the ethical ramifications of this legislation, especially surrounding President Donald Trump and his family's involvement with digital assets, Senate Democrat Cory Booker of New Jersey stated it is "ridiculous" that a leader and his family who have made millions of dollars in profit as a result of the crypto economy can create a regulatory framework for the crypto economy without any ethical considerations being included in that framework. Booker stated that the bill must contain specific ethics provisions and conflict-of-interest rules to restore the public's confidence in the political process and protect the integrity of the democratic process.

There was consensus among the Democratic members of the committee. According to Senator Klobuchar (D-MN), bipartisan support was missing for the bill, while discussions regarding consumer protection and conflicts of interest must continue. However, Chairman Boozman (R-AR) indicated that the bill deals with the structure of crypto markets only, while he sees questions of ethics outside the purview of the Agriculture Committee. He stated his willingness to work with Senate Democrats to amend the bill as required.

Democratic senators raised additional concerns regarding the authority granted to the CFTC. Klobuchar opposed granting broad authority to a commission that currently lacks sufficient representation and urged that a minimum of two Democratic commissioners be included along with the Republican chair (Mike Selig). Senator Slotkin (D-MI) supported this case based on Selig's stance in favor of crypto during his confirmation.