Genius Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. WARREN. Mr. President, I rise today to talk about the vote we just had on the motion to proceed on the GENIUS Act.

Despite promises that the GENIUS Act's fundamental flaws would be fixed ahead of any vote, we still don't have the new bill text.

Now, many of my colleagues have made clear that they want to improve this bill and that it is important for Republicans not to jam us. Well, the Republicans decided to jam us anyway. But the Democrats have power to say no, and that is exactly what we just did.

The GENIUS Act would establish a new regulatory framework for stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency whose value is pegged to the value of another asset, often, the U.S. dollar. This is a $100 billion market.

A stablecoin is very similar to a bank deposit. Its value, like the value of your deposits in a bank account, is supposed to maintain a stable value. That is why they call it a stablecoin.

But as we have learned throughout history, banking can be a really risky activity. It requires a robust regulatory and supervisory framework that protects consumers, that protects our national security, and that protects the stability of the financial system.

Democrats in the Banking Committee worked hard to improve the GENIUS Act before, during, and after we had a vote in committee on the bill. We want to strengthen the guardrails on this new financial product to make sure that it is safe and reliable.

Democrats--even Democrats who voted for the bill in committee--made it clear: The bill needs to improve significantly to win their support on the floor. But this new bill that was introduced last week and rushed to the floor this week, and that we voted on just today, lacked those guardrails.

So far, Republicans have refused to adopt changes that would apply basic consumer protection rules, like the ones the banks and other financial institutions have to follow so that their customers don't get cheated; have refused to adopt changes that would make it more difficult for cartels, terrorists, sanctions evaders, and human traffickers to use stablecoins to finance illegal activity; have refused to adopt changes that ensure that stablecoins do not destabilize our financial system and require taxpayers to bail out crypto companies when they crash; have refused to adopt changes that would prevent Big Tech billionaires from using this bill to issue their own private currencies; have refused to adopt changes that would stop Donald Trump and his family from corruptly profiting off their new stablecoin, USD1, which is already the fifth largest stablecoin in the world and has already been used to cut them in on shady, multibillion- dollar deals with foreign governments.

So what happened when the Democrats saw the new version of the bill last week? We stood together, we held firm, and we made clear that we were not giving them enough votes to get to 60 and move the bill forward. That brought Republicans back to the negotiation table over the last several days.

The lead negotiators made clear: Republicans need our votes. We will not be rushed. We will not be jammed. We will not vote on something that we haven't even seen. This issue is simply too important.

And that brings us to today. We were asked by the Republicans to take this vote without ever seeing the text of the new bill. There is no way for any Senator to know whether the final bill sufficiently protects consumers, no way to know whether the final bill prevents terrorists in rogue nations and cartels from using stablecoins to move dirty money around, no way to know whether the final bill stops Big Tech billionaires from taking over our money supply, and no way to know whether the final bill stops President Trump from making billions off his stablecoin and accepting bribes from foreign nations.

These purported fixes were negotiated behind closed doors, in the dead of night, and we don't even know for sure what they are. We need time to evaluate them carefully. This is what it looks like when Republicans try to jam the Democrats.

But the opportunity for bribery and corruption through a Trump stablecoin is not hypothetical. It is not like, well, here is something that might happen. Trump has already shown us right out in public exactly how to run the corruption play.

It was reported last week that an Abu Dhabi investment firm, MGX, is using Trump's USD1's stablecoin to finance a $2 billion investment in Binance, essentially giving Trump a cut of the deal. The firm is chaired by someone who is referred to in the industry as the ``spy sheikh'' of the United Arab Emirates and co-owned by G42, a firm with extensive ties to the Chinese Government.

I do not think that some of my colleagues fully comprehend the scale of this corruption. Donald Trump and his family have essentially started their own bank, and money from foreign governments and large corporations is already pouring in. This is not one of Trump's standard failed side hustles, like steaks or vodka or his licensing deals. His stablecoin, USD1, is the fifth largest in the world, and it is only 3 weeks old. He is set to make hundreds of millions of dollars, potentially billions of dollars, on this undertaking.

If you are seeking pardons, if you want tariff exemptions, if you want other special favors, you don't need a briefcase of cash pushed under the table; you can do it conveniently online with Donald Trump's stablecoin. How can any Senator--Democrat, Republican, or Independent-- endorse that kind of corruption? How can any Senator--Democrat, Republican, or Independent--facilitate that kind of corruption?

Over the past few months, we as Democrats have too often forgotten we still have some power, and this is our opportunity to use it. We did not vote for this bill today. We stood firm, and we demanded improvements.

I have heard from some of my colleagues that this bill will happen with or without us, and that is simply not true. We proved it today. I urge Democrats to continue to use their power and make sure that we don't sign off on a weak deal, on a bad deal, on a deal that, months from now or years from now, we say: Oh, that turned out to be a bad idea.

We can only vote for the GENIUS Act when we have a bill that protects consumers, that promotes financial stability, that protects our national defense, and that fights back against Donald Trump's aggressive and public corruption. We need to stand strong as Democrats, and if we do, we can get a better bill and better serve the people of the United States of America.

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