The Trump administration is increasingly acknowledging that failing to strike a deal with Democratic senators on the president’s ability to profit from cryptocurrency will likely prevent sought-after digital asset legislation from passing, people familiar with the talks told Semafor.
“There are a lot of people on Capitol Hill who recognize that it’s a gating function,” one of the people said of a deal. Now, “it’s being recognized by the administration that it’s a gating function, too.”
The issue has so far been elevated to senior White House officials, though not Donald Trump himself. “We’re at relatively early stages,” a White House official told Semafor, who said officials are discussing “how to protect the interests of the administration and the constitutional separation of powers, and to get this bill done.”
As policymakers sift through other outstanding issues like illicit finance, at least one Democratic senator has urged a face-to-face meeting with Trump on ethics. But potential contours of a deal remain unclear.
Restrictions on presidents themselves are not expected to impact ventures like the Trumps’ World Liberty Financial. Restrictions on presidents’ families, however, would be a different story.
“I don’t want to forecast any timeline” for a resolution, the White House official said. “I think we’re cautiously optimistic about getting something satisfactory, but we’re cautiously optimistic in all sorts of situations.”