In a new letter, they are Democratic lawmakers ask Federal regulators launched by President to examine legal and ethical questions surrounding cryptocurrency meme coins Donald Trump and the first lady.
The letter formally raises concerns about foreign countries trying to establish influence, buying coins, and Trump’s ethics “will come from his presidency.”
Elizabeth Warren, the lead advocate on the Senate Banking Committee and Crypto Regulation, wrote the letter with Rep. Jake Auchincloss, D-Mass.
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters after signing executive orders in the White House Office, Jan. 23, 2025, in Washington.
Anna MoneyMaker / Getty Images
Warren and Auchincloss point to the foreign emoluments clause of the U.S. Constitution, “(n)o suspended or in any state attributed to the office of trust (United States), without the consent of Congress, without the present approval, the emolument, office, or title, whatever, any king , the prince or from the outside situation.”
“Anyone, including the leaders of enemy nations, can buy the specter of foreign influence and unattractiveness over the state president.$ Melania,” Warren and Auchincloss wrote to the Ethics in Government, the Department of the Treasury, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Meme coins also present a conflict of interest, they write, because Trump’s family members are expected to directly advertise an industry they are charged with regulating. The president appoints the chairs of the trade commission and the securities and exchange commission, the directors of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and the consumer financial protection office, and the secretary of the Treasury.
“This creates an inevitable conflict of interest, as it will directly benefit him, setting the policy by which the markets are regulated, and he will be in a position to seek the heads of the agency, not only how the market is valued, but to establish lax guidelines, crypto scams carried out through Meme coins to implement,” the letter said.
ABC news reached out to the home for comment.
Trump launched the $Trump coin on Friday night, just days before taking office. The estimated value is $7 billion, according to Coinecko. $ Melania coin is worth about 400 million dollars. Much of the profits from those coins go to Trump and his businesses, according to financial disclosures. (Trump’s divestitures of most of his assets in his first term were made during his first term, so his family could still withdraw them.)
Meme coins are a highly volatile form of crypto that allows people to bet on a popular personality or trend.
On Thursday, Trump signed an executive order protecting the spread of cryptocurrencies.
