House Democrats Walk Out of Crypto Hearing Over Trump's Alleged Corruption

House Democrats, led by Rep. Maxine Waters, staged a dramatic walkout during a joint congressional hearing on cryptocurrency regulation, protesting President Donald Trump's personal and family involvement in crypto ventures. Democrats argued that Trump's crypto activities, including launching memecoins and holding lucrative fundraising events, present conflicts of interest and potential avenues for corruption, demanding specific legislative language to address presidential crypto dealings. The walkout interrupted bipartisan efforts to advance stablecoin and digital asset market structure bills, with Waters and other Democrats holding a separate 'shadow hearing' focused on Trump's alleged crypto corruption. Republican committee leaders criticized the walkout as injecting partisanship into previously cooperative legislative discussions and pledged to continue bipartisan work on digital asset regulation. The core dispute centers on whether crypto regulation bills should explicitly address presidential conflicts of interest, with Democrats warning that failure to do so risks undermining public trust and ethics in government. The incident highlights growing political tensions around crypto oversight and the intersection of personal financial interests with policymaking.