Emmer, Gottheimer tell The Block key crypto bills set to pass after delays, Trump meeting

Following days of upheaval in Washington, pro-crypto lawmakers on both sides of the aisle say they have the votes to pass key legislation. 

Votes during the GOP-labeled “Crypto Week” were delayed as a group of conservative lawmakers pushed for changes to how anti-central bank digital currency legislation would be handled.

Lawmakers are weighing passage of three bills: the stablecoin GENIUS Act, the crypto market structure Clarity Act, and a bill to ban central bank digital currencies. 

"All three of these are passing, they're passing," said Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., in an interview with The Block on Thursday. "The GENIUS Act, we're going to deliver it to Donald J. Trump's desk tomorrow for signature. It will be law by tomorrow night." 

Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (also known as the GENIUS bill), which would create a regulatory framework for stablecoins, is scheduled to be voted on later on Thursday. If passed, it will be sent to President Donald Trump's desk before the end of the week.

The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, or Clarity for short, adopts a comprehensive approach to regulating the crypto sector and would establish a clear regulatory framework for digital assets, in part by designating how the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission will oversee regulation. That bill will also be voted on later on Thursday, and if passed, it will go to the Senate.

The sticking point has been a bill, led by Emmer, to block the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency directly to individuals. A CBDC is a digital form of fiat money, directly issued and regulated by a country's central bank. Fed Chair Jerome Powell has also said the Fed won't issue a CBDC without congressional approval.

The concern among some lawmakers was that if the CBDC bill was sent over as a standalone bill to the Senate, would there be a guarantee that the Senate would pass it, Emmer said.

"You can't guarantee any of that because the Senate is going to do what the Senate is going to to do, you just have to give them the opportunity," Emmer said. Now, the CBDC bill will be included in the National Defense Authorization Act, Emmer said. The annual NDAA is considered a "must-pass" bill. 

Trump's meeting

As had been reported, President Donald Trump spoke with lawmakers on Tuesday night to discuss the bills. During those talks, an understanding was reached that the CBDC ban would be incorporated into the Clarity Act, Emmer said, noting that key House leadership had not been present at that meeting and were opposed to the measure. 

When asked why House leadership wasn't a part of those conversations, Emmer said that group of lawmakers was physically nearby chatting with Treasury officials about GENIUS, while Trump was in the Oval Office. 

"These guys are right next door, and they invited him over to have a discussion, and it just kind of moved this way," Emmer said. 

Trump is trying to work with all lawmakers, Emmer said. 

"It would have probably gone much better had that kind of organic kind of not planned meeting, if it would have included the chair from the House Financial Services Committee, the chair from the House Ag Committee, or some others from those committees, because then the President would have gotten a full picture," Emmer said. 

Democrats' concerns

Emmer also addressed some of the Democrats' criticisms of Trump's involvement in crypto. At the center of Democrats' concerns for both bills has been President Trump's involvement with digital assets. Bloomberg estimates that the sitting president has profited some $620 million from his family's crypto ventures, including the World Liberty Financial DeFi and stablecoin project, as well as the TRUMP and MELANIA memecoin launches.

"So this idea that they're doing something they shouldn't be doing in crypto — let's tell the truth about it," Emmer said, adding that the Trumps had been cut out of the financial system. President Trump's son Eric Trump has previously discussed the "weaponization of banks against the Trump family." 

"What they have done, to their credit, is they have adjusted and literally evolved into the 21st-century financial system to protect themselves and they are really good at it," Emmer said. "And by the way, everything they have done in this space is legal — they don't get that credit."

In an interview with Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., on Thursday, the lawmaker noted that Trump's involvement in crypto has been a significant issue, but emphasized the need for regulation. 

"My perspective has been pretty clear on that, that you'd rather have some regulatory oversight than no regulatory oversight, which will happen when these bills become law," Gottheimer told The Block. 

When asked about the vibe in Washington, Gottheimer said there was a lot of excitement for lawmakers on Capitol Hill who want to see the vote happen today. 

"This has been years in the making, a lot of good bipartisan work, and so that's where we are," Gottheimer said. "And obviously not everyone's there, but we're spending a lot of time talking to a lot of people."

Gottheimer is also optimistic that both bills, GENIUS and Clarity, will pass and predicts there will be strong bipartisanship, given the many conversations he has had with lawmakers. Earlier this week, Gottheimer sent a letter urging his colleagues to support Clarity. 

Gottheimer said the House Freedom Caucus' disruption may have delayed events, but noted that votes are moving forward. 

"It's taken a few days longer than I wanted to given the Freedom Caucus, but we'll get this vote up on the board and we'll see a good, strong bipartisan showing," Gottheimer said. 

Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.

© 2025 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.