Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott (R-SC) sharply criticized Senate Democrats on Friday for blocking the GENIUS Act, a Republican-led bill to regulate stablecoins and promote financial inclusion. Speaking to Breitbart News, Scott called the move “disgusting” and accused Democrats of prioritizing politics over helping working-class Americans.
The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act aimed to create a streamlined federal framework for stablecoins—digital assets pegged to the U.S. dollar—which supporters say would provide cost-effective, real-time financial services to the underbanked. Despite bipartisan support in committee, Democrats halted the bill’s advancement on the Senate floor.
“As a kid who grew up in poverty, I just can’t tell you how frustrating it is to see the kind of gamesmanship that denies access to a cost-effective approach to engaging in our financial institutions,” Scott said.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates that 14.2% of Americans are underbanked, disproportionately affecting Black and Hispanic households. Proponents argue that stablecoins could reduce remittance fees, overdraft costs, and check-cashing expenses—key burdens on these communities.
Scott emphasized that the Biden administration’s prior acknowledgment of stablecoins’ potential makes the Democrats’ sudden opposition more glaring. Former Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen previously said stablecoins “have the potential to support beneficial payments options.”
Critics believe Democrats bowed to pressure from radical factions in their party that are skeptical of cryptocurrency’s role in the U.S. financial system. Scott accused them of “trying to appease their radical components… who just don’t want crypto in America.”
Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN), the bill’s primary sponsor, said Democrats “ceded American leadership capability in the digital asset industry to the CCP.” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent added that failure to pass the bill risks pushing crypto jobs and innovation offshore.
Other Republican lawmakers echoed the concern. Sen. John Thune (R-SD) questioned if the rejection was really about the bill or simply a move to deny Republicans and President Trump a bipartisan win.
Scott tied the issue to broader economic opportunity, saying the energy demands of crypto could spur U.S. energy production and job growth—especially in nuclear power. “The ecosystem itself presents millions of jobs for hungry Americans who want to get into the middle class,” he said.
Calling the Democrat blockade a betrayal of the economically vulnerable, Scott concluded, “This is a blue-collar coalition that elected President Trump… and to see the Democrats turn their backs on the very people they say they want to represent—it’s frustrating.”
