A high-profile House hearing on crypto regulation got testy Tuesday after House Democrats, led by Rep. Maxine Waters walked out in protest over President Donald Trump’s involvement in crypto.
The joint hearing — organized by the House Financial Services and Agriculture Committees — was meant to discuss a new draft of market structure legislation that would divide oversight of digital assets between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
But, for a moment, the debate on regulatory frameworks was interrupted and marked by political tension.
Waters, the ranking Democrat on the Financial Services Committee, formally objected to the hearing at its outset.
“I object to this joint hearing because of the corruption of the President of the United States and his ownership of crypto and his oversight of all the agencies,” she said during the session, before exiting with other Democratic members.
During a heated exchange, Waters kept “insisting on the objection,” citing dubious ties between Trump and the crypto industry.
Partisan concerns over crypto
The walkout followed Waters’ earlier warning to Committee Chair French Hill that she would oppose the session unless Republican lawmakers agreed to include language addressing Trump’s financial ties to crypto.
Those ties have come under increased scrutiny in recent months, with Trump and his wife, Melania, launching their own memecoins, and a pro-Trump financial group, World Liberty Financial, unveiling a stablecoin.
Trump also held a crypto fundraising dinner Monday night, with prices reportedly reaching $1.5 million per plate.
Hill responded by defending the bipartisan nature of the legislative efforts, saying the new draft “places universal requirements on issuers of all stripes” and should not be derailed by political disputes, according to Politico.
Democrats against GENIUS
Democrats have also expressed concerns about the GENIUS Act, a proposed stablecoin bill that aims to set federal standards for issuance and compliance. Over the weekend, several Democratic senators, including Mark Warner and Raphael Warnock, flagged issues such as the need for stronger anti-money laundering rules and stricter oversight of foreign issuers.
Waters is reportedly planning a separate “shadow hearing” to highlight what she sees as conflicts of interest surrounding Trump’s crypto activities.
Joint hearings in the House require unanimous consent, but the hearing is still going at the time of writing.
