Maxine Waters Plans Walkout From Crypto Hearing, Will Host 'Shadow Hearing' Opposing Trump Family Ventures: Report

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), a key Democrat and ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee, reportedly plans to walk out of a joint hearing on cryptocurrency policy scheduled for Tuesday.

What Happened: Waters intends to walk out with at least several Financial Services Democrats and hold a “shadow hearing” on President Donald Trump’s family’s involvement in the cryptocurrency industry, Politico reported, citing sources with direct knowledge of the matter.

The hearing is scheduled a day after House Republicans presented a draft of the landmark cryptocurrency regulation that proposed a division of oversight of digital assets between market regulators. Waters had previously voiced her objections to House Financial Services Chair French Hill (R-Ark.) over the weekend, insisting on a provision in the legislation that would address the Trump family’s cryptocurrency endeavors.

Water’s office didn’t immediately return Benzinga’s request for comment.

Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Monday that he was open to amending the legislation, saying, “Changes can be made on the floor for sure.”

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Why It Matters: Waters’ planned disruption is part of a broader Democratic pushback against cryptocurrency legislation favored by Republicans.

Earlier, a faction of Senate Democrats expressed their opposition to Republican-led stablecoin legislation, citing the absence of provisions like anti-money laundering, foreign issuers and national security.

The Trump family’s cryptocurrency ventures, including the Official Trump TRUMP/USD meme coin and the USD1 stablecoin, have been a major point of contention, leading to increased scrutiny and calls for regulatory oversight.