The proceedings, characterized by intense partisan dialogue, procedural disagreements, and strategic Republican outreach to moderate Democrats, took place under an imminent timeline; if the bill does not pass the committee prior to the Memorial Day recess, the legislative agenda would undergo a complete reset.
Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) mounted a direct criticism of the bill. Instead of initially discussing digital assets, she addressed broader consumer issues such as grocery prices, overdraft fees, and credit card interest rates that she argued should be prioritized by the committee. “We’re spending our time working on a bill written by the crypto industry, for the crypto industry,” Warren contended, stating that nothing within the bill had not received approval from crypto stakeholders. She referenced a CoinDesk survey indicating that only 1% of voters identified cryptocurrency as their paramount concern.
Warren articulated five principal criticisms of the proposed legislation: its potential to undermine securities laws established since 1929; to permit consumer fraud through the preemption of state-level protections; to echo the financial misjudgments of 2008 by facilitating banks’ accumulation of high-risk crypto assets; to exacerbate national security vulnerabilities; and to fail to address what she described as corruption related to the previous administration’s crypto dealings. “Since taking office last year, the president and his family have raked in at least $1.4 billion in gains from crypto deals alone,” she asserted.
A Procedural Conflict Prior to Voting
Before addressing any amendments, the early minutes of the session were consumed by disputes regarding which proposals would be considered. Warren pointed out that over a dozen Democratic amendments were ruled out of order before the session’s commencement, including one proposed by the National Sheriffs Association aimed at closing loopholes in money laundering regulations, and another from community banks seeking to prevent loss of deposits.
“You and you alone have decided which amendments are in and which amendments are out,” she told Scott, urging him to amend these rulings directly on the Senate floor. Scott responded by attributing the situation to objections raised by Warren’s staff regarding a Republican amendment, which led to a comprehensive review of all submissions. He acknowledged that at least one Republican amendment was excluded in the process.
“I tried to make sure both sides had an opportunity,” Scott remarked. Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) sought clarification on the ruling, leading to a procedural exchange with Scott that highlighted the precarious nature of markup sessions, given that over 130 amendments had been proposed.
Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) succinctly countered, “The definition of working together at a markup is allowing amendments to be called up and voted upon.”
Lummis: ‘The Most Challenging Legislation I Have Encountered’
Lummis, the most ardent proponent of the legislation within the Senate, delivered a defense that combined policy analysis with personal testimony. “I served 14 years in the Wyoming Legislature, eight years as State Treasurer, and now 14 years in Congress. This is by far the hardest piece of legislation I’ve ever worked on,” she stated, noting that former Senator Kirsten Gillibrand shared a similar sentiment.
Lummis elaborated on the bill’s provisions addressing illicit finance: risk-based examination standards, expanded Treasury authority for special measures, mandatory annual reports on the anti-money laundering (AML) compliance of foreign jurisdictions, recurring Treasury reports on offshore stablecoins, restrictions on insider resales, and the establishment of a federal regulatory framework for crypto kiosks. This last provision garnered support from AARP, which referenced FBI data indicating over 13,460 complaints of fraud related to crypto kiosks, resulting in losses of $389 million in 2025 alone.
She countered Warren’s national security concerns by stating, “The risks of which she spoke exist now — right now — because there is no regulatory framework. There is no mechanism in place to protect good actors or to identify and sanction malign actors.” Additionally, she closed with a humanitarian argument, highlighting the bill’s potential to enable swift and cost-effective financial transactions for average citizens, create equitable financial opportunities irrespective of geographical location, and protect vulnerable populations, such as domestic abuse survivors and political refugees who may memorize their savings in Bitcoin. “This is an innovation that provides individual freedom and savings,” she asserted.
Both Scott and Lummis took time during their speeches to acknowledge individual Democratic members such as Warner, Cortez Masto, Gallego, Warnock, and Alsobrooks, who contributed to the protracted negotiation process over the past nine months. These acknowledgments were intentional, given the committee composition of 13 Republicans and 11 Democrats, with a 60-vote threshold required on the Senate floor making bipartisan support essential.
Summary of Amendment Proposals to Date
Senator Mike Rounds (R-SD) successfully proposed an AI regulatory sandbox for financial firms, passing with a vote of 15-9, supported by Democratic Senators Mark Warner and Andy Kim as well as the Republican majority, indicating some Democrats’ willingness to negotiate.
Senator Elizabeth Warren encountered repeated setbacks in her attempts to revise the legislation. Her amendments regarding tokenized asset disclosures, DeFi sanctions related to financing terror, and banking practices related to cryptocurrency all failed by narrow margins primarily along party lines. During discussions concerning DeFi sanctions, Warren referenced the Treasury’s 2022 sanctions against Tornado Cash, cautioning that Iran might leverage cryptocurrency for financial transactions in strategic regions. Senator John Kennedy (R-LA), identified as a possible crossover vote, ultimately voted against the amendment.
Another amendment proposed by Senator Dave McCormick (R-PA) directing the SEC and CFTC to reassess portfolio margin rules garnered broad bipartisan support and passed with a vote of 18-6.
The markup is ongoing and can be followed here.
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