US Senator Seeks Memecoin Ban for Trump and Elected Officials After $636 Million Disclosure

Why Trump’s Crypto Earnings Intensified the Ethics Debate

U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) renewed her propulsion connected July 3, 2026, to prohibit elected officials and their spouses from issuing oregon sponsoring integer assets. The renewed effort followed caller reporting connected President Donald Trump’s fiscal disclosures, which listed $636 cardinal from a memecoin arsenic his largest root of income successful 2025.

Gillibrand’s connection would use to the president, members of Congress, and their spouses, making it amerciable for them to contented oregon sponsor integer assets, including memecoins. The disclosures besides reported that First Lady Melania Trump issued her ain memecoin and separately earned $6 cardinal from non-fungible tokens ( NFTs) and different integer collectibles.

Those disclosures prompted Gillibrand to reason that morals standards should travel immoderate broader cryptocurrency legislation, stating:

“This is simply a commonsense request that should get wide bipartisan enactment – nationalist officials and their spouses should not beryllium issuing memecoins.”

How Gillibrand’s Ethics Campaign Has Evolved

Gillibrand’s latest connection follows much than a twelvemonth of efforts to adhd morals restrictions to national cryptocurrency legislation. In May 2025, she joined Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) arsenic a co-sponsor of the End Crypto Corruption Act, which sought to prohibit the president, members of Congress, and their families from issuing oregon endorsing integer assets, including memecoins and stablecoins.

During Senate information of the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act successful 2025, Gillibrand pushed to clasp provisions addressing President Trump’s cryptocurrency ventures. Those provisions were yet removed aft immoderate senators argued that detailing each of Trump’s imaginable conflicts would marque the authorities overly lengthy and complex. Trump aboriginal signed the GENIUS Act into instrumentality successful July 2025.

The New York legislator reiterated her presumption during the Consensus Miami league successful May 2026, telling manufacture participants that the projected Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act would not walk the Senate without morals provisions covering the president’s idiosyncratic cryptocurrency activities. The remarks underscored her effort to necktie morals standards to broader integer plus legislation.

Will Ethics Rules Become Part of Crypto Legislation?

The legislator has agelong advocated for stronger oversight of the cryptocurrency industry, arguing that the assemblage lacks capable user protections and progressively operates beyond the scope of U.S. law. She has besides led a bipartisan measure targeting recently created prediction markets and backed proposals to prohibition members of Congress and their spouses from owning oregon trading idiosyncratic stocks portion successful office.

The memecoin prohibition connection has not been enacted, leaving its aboriginal successful the hands of Congress. Gillibrand said lawmakers should determination quickly, emphasizing:

“The clip to enactment is present — and that indispensable see morals reforms that prohibit members of Congress, the president, and their spouses from cashing successful connected their office.”

Whether those morals restrictions go portion of aboriginal cryptocurrency authorities remains uncertain. Congressional enactment volition find whether national officials are yet barred from issuing oregon sponsoring integer assets portion serving successful office.