The crypto industry and their Republican allies on Capitol Hill just learned a painful lesson — they’re not going to get anything passed without Democratic support.
And that changes the political calculus as more legislation moves forward in the weeks to come, including a stablecoin measure and a market structure bill in the House of Representatives.
For all the momentum of the first 100 days of President Donald Trump’s second term, it bears remembering that the Republicans hold Congress by a slim margin — seven votes in the House and three in the Senate.
Next stage
On Thursday, Senator John Thune, the majority leader, failed to muster the 60 votes needed to advance the landmark stablecoin bill to the next stage in potential approval, Aleks Gilbert and I reported.
To be sure, Thune was attempting to fast-track the legislation, which is why he needed the super-majority.
Still, two weeks ago the so-called Genius Act looked like a slam dunk. In the end, the South Dakota senator couldn’t find the 10 Democrats he needed to get it over the line.
“I just don’t get it, I don’t know what more they want,” said Thune on the floor of the Senate.