Senator Schumer Introduces Anti-Corruption Bureau Act, Citing Trump's Crypto Earnings

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has introduced legislation to establish a new US government agency dedicated to combating federal-level corruption, pointing specifically to President Donald Trump's earnings from what he described as "various, and extremely lucrative, cryptocurrency ventures."

The bill, known as the Anti-Corruption Bureau Creation Act, was announced in a Thursday notice. If enacted, it would grant the new agency authority to "investigate, enforce, and prevent executive branch corruption." According to the bill's text, Congress found that Trump had disclosed earning more than $2 billion from investments in 2025, including $1.4 billion tied to cryptocurrency. The findings also noted that the president's family held more than $1 billion in a crypto fund connected to foreign governments.

Speaking at a Public Citizen forum hosted by the consumer advocacy organization, Schumer described the proposed anti-corruption agency as having "real teeth" with enforcement authority. The bureau would be led by a bipartisan group of seven members subject to Senate confirmation. The legislation also includes mechanisms allowing private citizens and state authorities to recover funds that Schumer said had been stolen from "Americans through corruption."

"This new bureau is one where these institutions work in symbiosis, strengthening each other and eliminating barriers between them which often got in the way," said Schumer. "It replaces a broken patchwork of watchdogs, none of which were built for this moment, with one, powerful anti-corruption agency, ready to act anywhere, anytime corruption strikes."

The proposed agency would consolidate three existing bodies under a single umbrella: the US Federal Election Commission, which oversees campaign finance enforcement; the Office of Government Ethics, which administers executive branch ethics rules and financial disclosure requirements; and the Office of Special Counsel, which handles federal personnel protections and Hatch Act violations. Merging these previously independent watchdogs into one entity marks a structural shift in how federal ethics and campaign finance oversight would operate.

Senators Andy Kim, Alex Padilla, and Jeff Merkley cosponsored the legislation. The bill's introduction coincided with a public forum held the same week by Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Van Hollen examining Trump's ties to the cryptocurrency industry. The White House did not provide an immediate response when contacted by Cointelegraph for comment.

The legislation faces significant procedural hurdles. It would require Republican support to pass both the US House of Representatives and the Senate, where Republicans hold a slim majority. Even if Congress were to advance the bill before 2028, Trump could veto it, sending it back to lawmakers who would then need a two-thirds majority in both chambers to override the president's action.

Trump's Crypto Ties and the CLARITY Act

Trump's connections to the cryptocurrency industry have been a major concern for many Democrats in Congress as they weigh support for the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act, a comprehensive market structure bill that the crypto industry has lobbied for as essential to providing regulatory certainty for digital assets in the United States. While the White House agreed to certain ethics provisions within the legislation, numerous lawmakers argue these measures fall short of adequately addressing the president's potential conflicts of interest.

CLARITY Act Remains Under Senate Consideration

The US Senate has just over a week remaining before lawmakers depart for a month-long state work period, intensifying efforts to advance legislation before the 2026 US midterms potentially disrupt proceedings.

"The big question at this very minute is where the CLARITY Act stands," said former US Securities and Exchange Commission official John Reed Stark, speaking after his appearance at Blumenthal's and Van Hollen's Monday forum. "Of all the experts and political insiders I spoke with yesterday, not one could say for sure what happens this week with the CLARITY Act. There is enormous drama surrounding this legislation."

As of Thursday, the Senate had not scheduled a vote on the bill, despite sustained pressure from Republican lawmakers and industry leaders. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said on Wednesday that the bill was at the "one-yard line," while Senator Cynthia Lummis, a longtime advocate for the market structure legislation, has continued to push for a vote.