Rep. Josh Gottheimer expects strong bipartisan support for two crypto-related bills, the GENIUS and Clarity acts, with Democrats showing increasing backing for the measures.
“That bill (GENIUS Act), I think you’re going to see really strong bipartisan support for, and we’ve gotten very good feedback on that,” said the Democratic congressman in a recent interview with CNBC’s Squawk Box, responding to a question about how his Democratic colleagues reacted to his push for support of the Republican-backed crypto legislation.
On Monday, Gottheimer, alongside two other House Democrats, Don Davis and Ritchie Torres, sent a letter urging fellow Democrats to support the crypto bill, Politico reported. They argued that the US must not fall behind in crypto innovation, warning that doing nothing would pose greater risks and weaken US leadership in the space.
The lawmakers especially back the CLARITY Act, a market structure bill led by House Financial Services Chair French Hill. They say it would help protect consumers, support innovation, and provide regulatory clarity for digital assets.
While Democratic leadership isn’t taking a formal position on the bill, the three Democrats believe that action is necessary and that improvements can be made later.
“We’ve been working on these bills in some form or another for years to finally bring some certainty to the marketplace, to protect consumers,” said Gottheimer. “It’s not only good for the economy and making sure that America leads, but to finally protect consumers from a lot of these snake oil salesmen and other crypto that’s out there.”
The GENIUS Act, which will be voted on first today, defines stablecoins and requires them to be backed one-to-one by dollars or equivalents.
The Clarity Act establishes oversight responsibilities between the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Gottheimer said that the measure is likely to receive support from “at least a few dozen” Democratic members, along with Republicans.
“You’re seeing a lot more Democrats over the week understand it, come on board. You’ve got some people on the outside who want to make everything about Trump, as you brought up, as always an issue,” he emphasized.
“The big thing I keep saying to my colleagues is, do you want to make sure that consumers are protected, and that the Trump family coin, the meme coin, has some regulatory structure, has some oversight, versus just the Wild West, which is what we have now, and if we do nothing, you’ll just be right in the place where we are,” he added.
Despite procedural delays in the US House due to internal GOP disagreements over provisions targeting central bank digital currencies, three major crypto bills, including the Anti-CBDC Surveillance Act, advanced late yesterday.
The GENIUS Act is expected to pass the House by the end of the week and ultimately be signed into law by President Trump.
