House Fails to Advance GENIUS Act Amid Crypto Controversy

President Trump has engaged with 11 House members to advance the GENIUS Act, a legislative initiative aimed at establishing a regulatory framework for stablecoins. This move follows the Senate's passage of the GENIUS Act last month, prompting Trump to urge the House to swiftly pass a "clean" stablecoin bill. The House Rules Committee structured a rule for H.R. 4016, waiving all points of order against the consideration of the bill and providing one hour of general debate equally divided among the parties.

However, the House of Representatives failed to pass a procedural rule to advance three major crypto-related bills, including the GENIUS Act. This setback occurred during a week designated as "Crypto Week" by House Republicans, during which they aimed to advance three significant crypto bills: the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act, the GENIUS Act, and the CLARITY Act. The CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act seeks to prevent the Federal Reserve from issuing cryptocurrency directly to individuals, while the CLARITY Act aims to define the legal status of digital assets. The GENIUS Act, focused on stablecoin regulation, was initially a bipartisan effort but faced opposition from Democrats who demanded clauses restricting the involvement of high-ranking officials and their families in the crypto business.

Democrats, led by Representatives Maxine Waters and Stephen Lynch, launched a counter-event called "Crypto Corruption Awareness Week." They advocated for amendments that would prohibit sitting presidents from engaging in cryptocurrency activities, citing Trump's past criticism of Bitcoin and his alleged financial gains from a memecoin launch. Democrats argued that Trump's actions violated securities laws and urged voters to reject the CLARITY and GENIUS Acts, supporting Maxine Waters' "Stop TRUMP in the Crypto Act" of 2025 instead. This act aims to ban sitting presidents, vice presidents, congress members, and their immediate families from participating in the crypto business.

Trump's involvement in the crypto business has sparked controversy, with some viewing it as a commitment to the American crypto sector and others seeing it as scandalous. The Trump family's crypto holdings include various memecoins, Bitcoin mining companies, and stablecoins. Democrats' motives have been questioned, with some suggesting they are protecting big banks rather than consumers, while others see it as a political strategy to attract crypto votes.

Despite the setback, Florida lawmakers supported by the cryptocurrency industry joined the House majority backing the first crypto regulatory bill adopted by Congress. The coming days will reveal whether this week will be remembered as Crypto Week or Crypto Corruption Week, as the Republican majority in Washington is not absolute, and Democrats could have an impact on the outcome.