Trump's top ally not wooed by his Oval Office charms as GOP rebels threaten to tank massive crypto deal
Speaker Mike Johnson and Republican House leadership faced an uprising from the conference's far-right flank on Tuesday that resulted in the decision to end work earlier than expected.
A preliminary vote to tee-up a full vote on a triad of crypto measures, namely the GENIUS Act, failed after a handful of Republicans voted against it. House leadership has dubbed this push 'crypto week' and also under consideration are the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act and the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act.
They vented concerns that the legislation does not do enough to outlaw a central bank digital currency (CBDC) out of fear that the government-issued cyber money would be used as a surveillance tool - or worse.
'Behind the scenes there are the functional surveillance capabilities of a CBDC,' Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene posted.
'The bill as written does not expressly ban a CBDC and does not protect self-custody. Self-custody means that you control your own money, not a third party.'
To calm her fears, and the concerns of many other Republicans, Trump took matters into his own hands and hosted the discontent lawmakers to smooth things over.
'I am in the Oval Office with 11 of the 12 Congressmen/women necessary to pass the GENIUS Act and, after a short discussion, they have all agreed to vote tomorrow morning in favor of the Rule,' the president wrote on Truth Social just before 9 pm local time.
Trump hosted 11 lawmakers who voted against advancing crypto legislation to the Oval Office late on Tuesday evening. He wanted to convince them to pass the package, but Greene was unconvinced, saying Wednesday morning she can't support the measure
'Speaker of the House Mike Johnson was at the meeting via telephone, and looks forward to taking the Vote as early as possible,' the Republican's note continued.
'I want to thank the Congressmen/women for their quick and positive response.'
In addition to Greene, Reps. Anna Paulina Luna, Fla., Chip Roy, Texas, Victoria Spartz, Ind., Michael Cloud, Texas, Andy Harris, Md., Eli Crane, Ariz., Andrew Clyde, Ga., Tim Burchett, Tenn., Keith Self, Texas, Andy Biggs, Ariz., Scott Perry, Florida, and Majority Leader Steve Scalise, La., voted against the advancement of the bills.
Scalise voted no in the end so he could urge the chamber to vote on the measure again, and now the package of crypto legislation will get another procedural vote.
Trump has said he would not endorse any lawmakers that oppose his crypto package and has repeatedly written about making the U.S. the 'crypto capital of the world.'
The president's urgent request for passing crypto legislation comes as he and his family have invested heavily in the industry.
The firm World Liberty Financial, which offers crypto that would directly be impacted by the package of bills the president is touting, was co-founded in 2024 by Donald and his three sons, Don Jr., Eric, and Barron alongside Zach Witkoff, the son of real estate mogul and Trump foreign policy envoy Steve Witkoff.
But at least one lawmaker came away from the Oval Office meeting unmoved by the president.
I will not vote for this.
The only way to guarantee a ban on a central bank digital currency is through law.
The GENIUS Act does not ban CBDC or maintain people's chain of custody.
Revelations 13:16-17 pic.twitter.com/Br9iFFSn3p
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) July 16, 2025
On Wednesday morning Greene posted: 'I will not vote for this.'
'The only way to guarantee a ban on a central bank digital currency is through law,' she continued. 'The GENIUS Act does not ban CBDC or maintain people's chain of custody.'
Her post featured a screenshot of the Bible verse Revelations 13:16-17, which references the mark of the beast, an end time prophecy that claims before the world ends humanity will be assigned a sort of social credit system 'so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark.'
Rep. Luna of Florida similarly pushed back on CBDCs on Tuesday.
'I support crypto but cannot get behind anything that allows for a backdoor to CBDC,' she posted on X. 'There was a vote to allow legislation to come to the floor that would enable that to happen. Thus I voted no.'
It remains unclear if the Republicans who met with Trump will flip and vote for the package of crypto bills.
Republicans can only afford to lose three votes and still pass legislation on party lines, though there is the possibility that Democrats could support the crypto measures.
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