“Paying The Price For Failed Leadership”: Maryland Hit With Moody’s First Credit Downgrade In 50 Years
Maryland’s tax-and-spend Democrats—obsessed with a far-left progressive agenda, ranging from condoms for kids to gender identity to reparations to climate change to criminal illegal aliens—have pushed the state closer and closer to the brink. The self-created financial mess unfolding in the state predates President Trump’s second term and derives from leftist activists who have seized power in recent years and squandered taxpayer funds.
Now, Maryland’s financial credit profile is deteriorating—for the first time in decades—after Moody’s downgraded the state’s creditworthiness to Aa1 from AAA, according to Fox Baltimore.
Since 1973, Maryland has maintained a top-tier credit rating, long seen as a reflection of fiscal discipline and responsible governance. However, far-left Democrats in Annapolis have chosen to run deficits to fund their progressive pet projects. This credit downgrade puts Maryland on the disastrous pathway toward becoming “Illinois 2.0.”
The move by Moody’s ends more than three decades in which Maryland held the highest bond rating from the three rating agencies: Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch. Moody’s had given Maryland a AAA rating every year since 1973 — until Wednesday. Prior to Wednesday’s announcement, Maryland was one of 14 states to have the highest rating from the three major agencies — Fitch, Moody’s and Standard & Poors. –Maryland Matters
About a year ago, Moody’s downgraded the state’s outlook from stable to “negative,” citing significant concerns about looming structural deficits due to Annapolis’ out-of-control education spending.
Moody’s assessment of Maryland’s deteriorating creditworthiness comes as Democrats in control of the General Assembly and the governor’s seat struggle to tame a projected $3.3 billion deficit through cuts, cost shifts, and $1.6 billion in taxes and fees.
Democratic leaders in Maryland—including Governor Wes Moore, Senate President Bill Ferguson, House Speaker Adrienne Jones, the state treasurer, and the comptroller—are pointing fingers at federal cutbacks tied to President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative as the source of the state’s fiscal strain.
“To put it bluntly, this is a Trump downgrade. Over the last one hundred days, the federal administration’s decisions have wreaked havoc on the entire region, including Maryland,” the joint statement from Gov. Moore and others stated, adding, “Washington, D.C. received a credit downgrade. Thousands of federal workers are losing their jobs. Actual and proposed cuts to everything from health care to education will continue to exact an incalculable toll on Maryland and states across the country.”
But this deflection by Maryland Democrats masks years of unsustainable progressive policy decisions not rooted in financially sound decision-making.
Meanwhile, Maryland’s economy remains heavily exposed to government spending because roughly 20% of its GDP is tied to government spending: 10% from local government, 6% from the federal sector, and 4% from state operations (as of 2023). In such a heavily government-reliant economy, even modest reductions in government activity can have outsized effects, yet those cuts take time to work into the system.
Republicans have criticized Gov. Moore and Democrats for their previous spending binge…
“A year ago, Moody’s changed Maryland’s fiscal outlook to ‘negative’ due to our looming deficits and Blueprint spending. This was well before President Trump’s reelection and before any federal retrenchment,” Republican House Minority Leader Jason Buckel said via a statement, adding, “Foisting the blame anywhere but at the feet of the excessive spending championed by Maryland’s Democratic party is, at best, disingenuous.”
“Governor Moore promised to make this ‘Maryland’s Decade,’ but he and Maryland’s Democratic supermajority keep putting all their eggs in one basket, banking our entire economy on the federal government instead of building a diversified, competitive private sector,” said Republican Senate Minority Whip Justin Ready.
“Since well before Governor Moore, Maryland governors—Democrats and Republicans alike—protected this AAA rating as a symbol of our financial integrity,” said Republican Senate Minority Leader Steve Hershey.
Hershey noted, “But in just over a year, Governor Moore’s administration has eroded that legacy through unchecked spending and a lack of serious fiscal discipline. His feel-good messaging can’t cover up the fact that the choices made under his leadership have left Maryland weaker, not stronger.”
Maryland Loses AAA Bond Rating: Senate Republican Leaders Say “We’re Paying the Price for Failed Leadership” pic.twitter.com/c6kDYjFQtK
— Maryland Senate Republicans (@MDSenateGOP) May 14, 2025
In February, we noted:
Our recent conversation with a large asset management firm in the region revealed the state’s dire fiscal situation and how their clients are being told not to add Maryland munis to their bond portfolio. Some clients are being advised to find residency in conservative states amid fears Democrats will enact out-of-control tax hikes as the state implodes.
Even though Maryland still holds one of the highest possible credit ratings, the slippery slope has begun for the state as unaccountable Democrats have done everything in their power to ignore taxpayers to prioritize illegal criminal aliens, woke, and climate change nonsense.
Maryland’s demise via a series of reporting pieces:
Tyson Responds To Beef Shortage With “Hard” Push Into Chicken Production
Speaking at the BMO Global Farm to Market Conference in New York, Tyson Foods CEO Donnie King said the U.S. cattle industry appears to be in the early stages of a rebuilding cycle, with the national herd size hovering near 70-year lows.
In response to alarmingly low herd levels pushing cattle futures in Chicago to record highs, King noted Tyson plans to ramp up chicken production. Chicken is viewed as an affordable alternative to beef, making it increasingly attractive to cost-conscious consumers.
“We’ve got more opportunity to grow,” King told industry insiders and investors at the market conference, adding the company is looking to work its assets “a little harder.”
King said Tyson will expand chicken production to meet growing demand as a more affordable alternative to beef.
The cattle shortage, plus new developments this week of U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins shutting down live cattle, horse, and bison imports from southern border land ports, sent cattle futures in Chicago to fresh record highs earlier this week.
King expects chicken demand to remain robust through the second half of this year into 2026. This will help the U.S. largest meat processor to offset sagging beef profits amid one of the worst cattle shortages in a generation.
King reiterated his call, first mentioned on Monday in an earnings call, about emerging signs ranchers are in the early innings of rebuilding depleted herds. He cautioned that such an effort could take at least two years.
The White House’s Rapid Response 47 X account reposted a video from Fox News that interviewed a rancher who warned, “it’s going to take time to rebuild” the nation’s herd.
5th Generation Cattle Rancher Steve Lucie: I think at this point, we should be all-in on what’s happening… We have the lowest beef herd that we’ve had since 1950 and that’s because so many people have gotten out of the industry. If we could’ve exported more of our beef, I don’t… pic.twitter.com/Hmkq30KmYa
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 7, 2025
The question on our minds: Will the cattle shortage actually worsen in the second half of the year and into 2026? The rebuilding cycle takes time, which likely means higher beef prices and potential supply constraints—think back to the brief egg shortage.
At ZeroHedge, we’re not waiting around to find out.
We’ve launched a “Rancher-Direct” e-commerce platform to secure access to clean, American-raised beef sourced from independent ranchers across the country.
It’s about planning ahead in uncertain times. Relying on multinational supermarket chains for clean, reliable food has become a major issue over the years. The smarter path forward is building direct relationships with local ranchers—knowing where your food comes from and securing that connection before the next supply chain crunch hits.
With Trump Touring Gulf, Iran Offers Huge Nuclear Concession
Update(1920ET): Trump’s Gulf tour which so far has emphasized deal-making and ‘no more chaos’ in the Middle East, looks to be resonating with Tehran, whose leadership is closely following from just across the Persian Gulf.
In a major breaking report, NBC says that “Iran is ready to sign a nuclear deal with certain conditions with President Donald Trump in exchange for lifting economic sanctions, a top advisor to Iran’s supreme leader told NBC News on Wednesday.”
This is a surprising and huge development given Iran has long said it can no longer trust the Trump administration, given it was Trump who first pulled the US out of Obama’s JCPOA nuclear deal in April 2018.
NBC cites top Iranian official Ali Shamkhani, importantly who serves as military and nuclear advisor to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in the following:
He said Iran would commit to never making nuclear weapons, getting rid of its stockpiles of highly-enriched Uranium which can be weaponized, agree to only enrich Uranium to the lower levels needed for civilian use, and allow international inspectors to supervise the process, in exchange for the immediate lifting of all economic sanctions on Iran.
Asked if Iran would agree to sign an agreement today if those conditions were met, Shamkhani said, “Yes.”
“It’s still possible. If the Americans act as they say, for sure we can have better relations,” Shamkhani said. The top official added, “it can lead to a better situation in the near future.”
Again, this is a monumental concession offered by such a high-ranking official deeply involved in nuclear negotiations. The Islamic Republic has consistently cast the enrichment issue as a matter of national sovereignty, but has maintained all along that it does not seek nuclear weapons. Indeed, fatwas going back decades issued by the Ayatallahs have called the nuclear bomb ‘unIslamic’.
Trump has already announced the immediate lifting of sanctions on Syria, whose population has suffered through many years of hellish proxy war and a US-led siege and starvation sanctions policy. Is Iran next?Is Trump in the mood for more quick deal-making and major declarations? He’s on a roll after all. The White House has certainly been busy presenting that the president is stacking up the wins in the Middle East.
Trump while aboard Air Force One and en route to Qatar had earlier called on Iran “to make the right decision” about its nuclear program “because something’s going to happen one way or the other.”
“So we’ll either do it friendly or we’ll do it very unfriendly,” Trump warned. “And that won’t be pleasant.” Tehran seems ready for a major new deal. But it also might have Gaddafi’s fate in the back of its mind (who famously gave up his WMD program… and we know what happened years down the line).
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Update(1305ET): President Trump has taken US-Qatar relations to ‘another level’ by signing a series of deals which boost defense and trade ties. Arms and jets continue to be a focus of Qatar talks, especially Trump’s signing a $200 billion deal for an unprecedented order of a whopping 160 American-produced commercial jets.
“So it’s over $200 billion but 160 in terms of the Jets, that’s fantastic,” Trump said of the deal involving Qatar Airways reaching an agreement with Boeing and GE Aerospace to acquire Boeing 787 Dreamliner and 777X aircraft powered by GE Aerospace engines. Boeing’s stock rose 1.7% Wednesday immediately after the headlines hit.
Of course defense and arms continue to be a big theme, coming off Trump’s Saudi leg of the trip. “Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also signed agreements regarding defense, including a statement of intent on defense cooperation between the State of Qatar and the United States,” reports CNN. “Hegseth also signed offer and acceptance letters for MQ 9B aircrafts and FS-LIDS. Trump signed a joint declaration of cooperation between the State of Qatar and the United States of America.” As we said before, this remains the bread and butter of historic US-Gulf relations.
Among the deals include Qatar acquiring “counter-drone” capabilities from US defense company Raytheon, valued at $1billion, as well as MQ-9B drones from General Atomics, an agreement valued at $2 billion.
We should note that there seems to be some exaggerated numbers being casually tossed about amid the array of headlines coming out of Doha, given especially Qatar’s GDP is just over $200 billion… and yet the T-word keeps being used, interestingly enough:
In a statement, the White House has said the agreements signed today between Trump and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani will “generate an economic exchange worth at least $1.2 trillion”.
The statement pointed to $243.5 in economic deals, which includes Qatar Airways buying Boeing planes, weapons acquisitions, and deals related to natural gas and quantum technologies.
It also said the US and Qatar had signed a statement of intent outlining over $38bn in potential investments including support for burden-sharing at Al Udeid Air Base, as well as future defense capabilities related to air defense and maritime security.
Ambrose Evans-Pritchard has also sounded a tone of skepticism amid the avalanche of breathless “trillion dollar” headlines from the Gulf tour:
At crude near $60 a barrel Saudi Arabia faces fiscal trouble and belt-tightening austerity. At $50 or lower it faces a slow-motion crisis and ultimately an existential threat to its economic model. That fate is no longer a remote tail-risk.
Donald Trump cares little for such hard economic constraints as he visits Saudi Arabia. The petrostates of the Gulf represent a vast pot of money in his pre-modern mind.
Saudi Arabia’s GDP is barely more than $1 trillion, smaller than the economy of the Netherlands. Saudi per capita income is on a par with Portugal. Trump will have to make do with blockbuster headlines and hope that nobody audits the details.
The International Monetary Fund estimates that Saudi Arabia’s “fiscal break-even cost” is $96 a barrel. That is the Brent price required to fund the kingdom’s cradle-to-grave welfare system and to keep the lid on political dissent.
Meanwhile, also of note is that on Wednesday Qatar’s central bank governor, Sheikh Bandar bin Mohammed bin Saoud Al Thani, met with billionaire Elon Musk on the sidelines of Trump’s visit.
“We’ve always liked each other,” said Trump of Qatar’s head of state.
Trump and Qatari Emir Tamim Al Thani announce historic $200 billion 160 Boeing planes deal and strengthening ties
As a last major event while still on the ground in Saudi Arabia, and before embarking for Qatar, President Donald Trump met with Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa. This signifies a monumental, historic shift in the entire regional order. We are witnessing the final blood soaked after-effects of the culmination of what was laid out in Seymour Hersh’s The Redirection, a policy which began all the way back in the Bush administration.
Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, got his start early in the Syria war as an emissary of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and later became founder of Syrian al-Qaeda, called Jabhat al-Nusra. The terror group went through several name changes, and is now the ruling Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in the wake of Bashar al-Assad’s December ouster. The CIA had helped the group take over Idlib in 2015.
Trump had yesterday in a speech before the US-Saudi Investment Forum described that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had asked him to remove the long in place sanctions against Syria. Trump expressed hope that the country could become stable again under its new rulers. “The sanctions were brutal and crippling and served as an important — really an important function — nevertheless, at the time. But now it’s their time to shine,” he said. “So I say, ‘Good luck, Syria.’ Show us something very special.'” As for ‘special’…
Indeed, Jolani/Sharaa, went from head of AQ-linked HTS in Idlib province, which is ruled by Sharia law, to standing in Riyadh alongside the United States president and Saudi crown prince. He actually still has not been removed from the US terrorism list, though the ten million dollar bounty which had been on his head was taken off months ago.
Trump described the terrorism elephant in the room by telling reporters aboard Air Force One just after the meeting that Sharaa was a “young, attractive guy — tough guy” with a “strong past” and that he now has an opportunity to stabilize Syria.
“He’s got a real shot at pulling it together,” Trump added. Trump had reportedly urged Sharaa to make peace with Israel and join the Abraham Accords. Washington has also been pressing Damascus to protect and respect religious minorities after recent mass killings of Alawites, Druze, and Christians – especially along the coast, in the south, and in some Damascus suburbs.
The conservative publication National Review has it right in pointing out the following:
Trump’s meeting with Ahmed al-Sharaa is even more extraordinary than an American president meeting with some repugnant branch of the Assad family. Until late December, the U.S. government was willing to pay $10 million for information about al-Sharaa’s location, because he was on the “specially designated global terrorist” list.
The irony is that the Sharaa meeting happened on the sidelines of the summit of the United States and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members in Riyadh. It was the GCC which early in the Syria proxy war had a big role in funding the anti-Assad jihadist insurgency, which included ISIS and al-Qaeda.
Qatar especially was a big financier of the Islamists in Syria who beheaded civilians, massacred Christians, and took women as sex slaves. Qatar even hosted “Free Syrian Army” (FSA) training camps, in coordination with the CIA and Western and Gulf intelligence services. FSA commandoes would then often, fresh of this training, take their weapons into Syria and fight right alongside ISIS. We have previously documented this many times.
As for highlights from the readout from the Trump-Sharaa meeting:
Trump told al-Sharaa that he had “a tremendous opportunity to do something historic in his country,” the readout said. He urged the Syrian leader to sign on to the Abraham Accords, a framework for Arab states to recognize Israeli sovereignty that the U.S. mediated during Trump’s first term.
He also advised al-Sharaa to tell foreign terrorists to leave Syria, deport Palestinian terrorists, help the U.S. prevent the resurgence of the Islamic State terrorist group and assume responsibility for ISIS detention centers in Syria’s northeast.
Al-Sharaa affirmed his commitment to Syria’s 1974 disengagement with Israel and invited American companies to invest in Syrian oil and gas, the readout said.
On Wednesday Trump landed in Qatar, where as Al Jazeera explains “Regional peace, investments, energy and security cooperation on agenda as US President Donald Trump holds talks with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in the Qatari capital Doha during the second leg of his Gulf visit.”
An American president has not visited Qatar in more than 20 years. But certainly the two sides became closer in the context of the covert push to overthrow Assad, and to wage proxy war against the ‘pro-Iran axis’ in the region. Qatar is also home to major regional US military and naval facilities, and is of course an oil and gas hub far beyond its tiny geographic size.
As for another theme which Trump is continued to expected pushing, he said Wednesday: “This is good for Israel” – after reporters asked whether the Netanyahu government is being sidelined in his Gulf trip. “Having a relationship like I have with these countries … I think it’s very good for Israel.”
And as for the ongoing Gaza crisis, not much has been said publicly, but it is likely high on the agenda behind closed doors. After all, the White House wants to “be able to say he hit a home run in all three kingdoms – that he was able to build relationships that are going to transcend his presidency. He wants to overwhelm the US press with a success list.” Trump is holding talks with the Emir of Qatar.
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UnitedHealth Shares Plunge Continues On Reported DoJ Probe For Medicare Fraud
And the hits just keep on coming…
UNH shares are plunging after hours (down 6% and back below $300 for the first time since September 2020) following a report from The Wall Street Journal that, according to people familiar with the matter, the DOJ is investigating UnitedHealth Group for possible criminal Medicare fraud related to its Medicare Advantage business.
While the exact nature of the potential criminal allegations against UnitedHealth is unclear, the people said the federal investigation is focusing on the company’s Medicare Advantage business practices.
The Justice Department’s criminal healthcare fraud unit focuses on crimes such as kickbacks that trigger higher Medicare and Medicare payments.
UnitedHealth’s latest annual securities filing says the company “has been involved or is currently involved in various governmental investigations, audits and reviews,” and flags involved agencies including the Justice Department.
It doesn’t specifically mention the criminal, civil and antitrust probes the Journal has reported.
The probe adds to a list of government inquiries into the company, including investigations of potential antitrust violations and a civil investigation of its Medicare billing practices, including at its doctors offices.
All of this comes as the Trump administration and Congress look to cut federal health spending, a key source of UnitedHealth’s success.
Five years ago, the Covid-19 pandemic marked a dramatic shift in workplace dynamics, as working from home suddenly became the norm for millions of workers in the United States and across the globe.
This transformation offered employees newfound flexibility, enabling them to manage their time more effectively, eliminate commutes, facilitate childcare and often achieve a better work-life balance.
Remote work also allowed for a customized work environment, fostering comfort and productivity for many.
However, as Statista’s Felix Richter notes, traditional office settings continue to hold unique advantages, which is why more and more employers have started to call their workers back to offices for most days of the week.
Offices facilitate in-person collaboration, spontaneous brainstorming and social interaction, all of which are challenging to replicate virtually.
Additionally, the structured environment of an office can provide clearer boundaries between work and personal life, reducing distractions and helping employees switch off when at home.
In many cases, hybrid models combining the benefits of both setups have emerged, catering to diverse employee preferences and living situations and striking a balance between the benefits and disadvantages of both working from home and in the office.
According to Statista Consumer Insights, 1 in 5 American employees currently work from home regularly, while 40 percent of respondents regularly work in a company office.
Undisclosed communication devices reportedly discovered in Chinese-manufactured solar panels and related equipment have sparked concerns among U.S. officials about the vulnerability of the nation’s power grid, according to a Reuters report.
These “rogue” devices, found over the past nine months, could potentially destabilize energy infrastructure and trigger widespread blackouts, sources familiar with the matter told the outlet.
The undocumented devices, including cellular radios, were identified in solar power inverters, batteries, electric vehicle chargers, and heat pumps produced by several Chinese suppliers.
BREAKING:
The U.S. has found Trojan horse communication devices in Chinese-made solar power inverters. They are used to connect solar panels to electricity grids.
The devices could be turned out remotely to destabilize energy grids, potentially leading to massive blackouts like… pic.twitter.com/mShdpVD4oD
U.S. experts uncovered the components during security inspections of renewable energy equipment, prompting a reevaluation of the risks posed by these products.
Inverters, critical for connecting solar panels and wind turbines to the power grid, are predominantly manufactured in China, amplifying concerns about their security.
“We know that China believes there is value in placing at least some elements of our core infrastructure at risk of destruction or disruption,” said Mike Rogers, former director of the U.S. National Security Agency.
“I think that the Chinese are, in part, hoping that the widespread use of inverters limits the options that the West has to deal with the security issue,” Roger’s further urged.
Experts warn that these rogue devices could bypass firewalls, allowing remote manipulation of inverter settings or even complete shutdowns.
Such actions could disrupt power grids, damage energy infrastructure, and cause blackouts.
“That effectively means there is a built-in way to physically destroy the grid,” another source told Reuters.
The discovery adds to long-standing warnings from energy and security experts about the risks of relying on Chinese-made green energy products.
Concerns over espionage and sabotage have grown as the U.S. continues to integrate these technologies into its energy systems.
In December 2023, Republican officials, including former Wisconsin Rep. Mike Gallagher and then-Senator Marco Rubio, urged Duke Energy to discontinue using Chinese-manufactured CATL batteries at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, citing surveillance risks.
“Directly following our inquiry, Duke disconnected the Chinese-manufactured systems from the grid,” Gallagher and Rubio stated in a February 2024 press release.
“Others that continue to work with CATL, and other companies under the control of the CCP, should take note,” they added.
The Department of Energy (DOE) acknowledged the issue, with a spokesperson telling Reuters that the department continuously assesses risks associated with new technologies.
“While this functionality may not have malicious intent, it is critical for those procuring to have a full understanding of the capabilities of the products received,” the spokesperson said.
The DOE is working to strengthen domestic supply chains and improve transparency through initiatives like the “Software Bill of Materials,” which inventories all components in software applications.
A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington rejected the allegations, stating, “We oppose the generalisation [sic] of the concept of national security, distorting and smearing China’s infrastructure achievements.”
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‘Hey, Comrade Putin, Just Go’: Brazil’s Lula Presses Russian President On Istanbul Talks
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was just recently one of the some 29 heads of state who attended the Victory Day Red Square parade and events in Moscow. He also met with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin while in the country.
And now amid plans for ‘direct’ Russia-Ukraine talks to be held in Istanbul Wednesday, Brazilian media is reporting that Lula is urging Putin to attend in person.
“It costs me nothing to say, ‘Hey, comrade Putin, go to Istanbul and negotiate, come on’,” Lula was quoted as saying by Brazil’s state news agency Agencia Brasil.
But on Wednesday, Kommersant newspaper is reporting that not even Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will take part in the Istanbul talks.
“Speaking to reporters during a visit to China, Lula said he would stop in Moscow on his way back to Brazil in an effort to press Putin to take part in negotiations,” another regional source reports.
As for the United States, President Trump is dispatching his two top diplomats, but there are reports they could arrive after main talks are scheduled to happen, while currently they are accompanying Trump in the Gulf:
US President’s Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio will arrive in Istanbul, Türkiye, on Friday, May 16, reports The Guardian.
As the outlet reports, Witkoff told journalists that he and Rubio will head to Istanbul on Friday for talks regarding Russia and Ukraine. He also noted that it remains unclear whether Russian President Vladimir Putin will be present at the planned negotiations.
However, the potential talks between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul are scheduled for Thursday, May 15.
The Kremlin has since confirmed that it still plans to participate, also as Zelensky is trying to goad Putin into attending in person. Zelensky has said he’s ready to be there if Putin is.
And even Trump had days ago said he was “thinking about actually flying over”; however, this is looking increasingly unrealistic.
Despite some sensational recent headlines and statements, one thing we can be sure will not happen is President Putin’s personal presence. There’s no reason for him to be there – from a strategic point of view – given Kiev has yet to make any major concessions, and Russian forces are winning on the ground in the east.
And if Moscow is not willing to send Lavrov, it’s a clear sign the Kremlin is not approaching the Istanbul meeting as if it will result to much of great consequence or substance.
Is The Senate Stablecoin Bill Dead? Dems Demand Treasury Info On Trump Citing Crypto “Bribery” Risks
Update (1405ET): CoinDesk’s Margau Nijkerk reports that Top House Democrats sent a letter to the U.S. Treasury Department Wednesday, asking its money laundering watchdog to hand over all suspicious activity reports (SARs) tied to President Donald Trump’s crypto ventures.
In a letter sent to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Reps. Gerald Connolly (D-Va.), Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.) and Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) – the ranking members of the House Oversight, Administrative, and Judiciary committees – called for an urgent investigation into Trump’s blockchain project World Liberty Financial and the $TRUMP memecoin, citing possible violations of campaign finance laws, bribery statutes and securities regulations.
“The Committees seek to determine whether legislation is necessary to prevent violations of campaign finance, consumer protection, bribery, securities fraud, and other anti-corruption laws in connection with fundraising by candidates for federal office and federal officeholders and to guard against deceptive and predatory campaign fundraising practices, illicit foreign influence over federal officials, and other financial misconduct connected to prospective or current federal officials,” the leading Democrats on the committees wrote in a press release shared with CoinDesk.
The request marks an escalation in congressional scrutiny on whether President Trump and his entourage are abusing their positions of power to benefit their crypto businesses. Senate Democrats pointed to Trump’s crypto ventures last week as part of their reason for not voting to advance stablecoin legislation that previously saw bipartisan support.
The inquiry zeroes in not only on the Trump family’s September 2024 launch of World Liberty Financial and the $TRUMP memecoin launched just days before his inauguration, but also Elon Musk’s America PAC and whether they are using Trump’s name to solicit donations under false pretenses.
The American crypto industry, flush with more political capital than it has ever had (and perhaps will ever have), was to get its long-awaited “regulatory clarity” on stablecoins last week.
And yet the Senate failed to pass a key procedural vote on the marquee stablecoin legislation.
As the bill, dubbed the GENIUS Act, languishes in legislative purgatory, should it be considered functionally dead—or might there be hope yet for its passage?
It depends who you ask.
Technically speaking, according to the Senate’s rules, the window to file a motion to reconsider the bill—which would establish a legal framework for offering stablecoins in the United States—has already passed.
Such a motion would have had to be filed by Monday evening, and no senators did so in time.
A source familiar with the Senate’s rules of procedure confirmed this state of affairs to Decrypt.
Stablecoins are a key component of the crypto economy. They are essentially digital dollar-equivalents that allow their users to enter and exit digital asset trades, and send payments or remittances overseas, without the need to access dollars directly.
It’s expected that once these assets are anointed by the U.S. Congress, rules of the road signed into law by President Donald Trump, banking giants and Wall Street titans will join the fray and enter the stablecoin market—bringing billions if not trillions of dollars into crypto. That’s why the lobbying arm of the crypto industry has been pushing so hard for this legislation.
But the GENIUS Act has not been taken up for a cloture vote this week because, functionally, political calculus has not changed on the topic since Thursday.
A small cadre of pro-crypto Democrats still have yet to reach a deal with Republican leadership over the bill’s language. Republicans are confident, however, they will be able to take advantage of “other procedural opportunities” to get the GENIUS Act back to the Senate floor if such a deal is made, sources told Decrypt.
After a largely uneventful weekend, key Democratic and Republican stakeholders are resuming talks this week over the contents of the bill, sources familiar with the plans told Decrypt. Both sides are remaining exceptionally tight-lipped, however, about what exact language is holding up progress.
Five Senate Democrats who voted against the bill last week previously voted to advance it from the Senate Banking Committee. Two of the Democrats who opposed the bill on Thursday, Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), are consponsors of the legislation.
In a statement issued last weekend, pro-crypto Democrats blamed their withdrawal of support for GENIUS on portions of a new draft of the bill, which they said contained insufficient anti-money laundering and national security protections. But optics appear to also be playing a significant role in their change of tune.
In the last two weeks, President Donald Trump and his family have made multiple flashy crypto and stablecoin-related announcements that have animated Democrats over perceived conflicts of interest in the White House.
That line of attack has only been exacerbated since the weekend, with Trump announcing Monday that he intends to personally accept a $400 million Boeing jet as a gift from the Qatari government.
The Senate’s decision to block the GENIUS Act on Thursday drew immediate condemnation from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who warned the vote could jeopardize the U.S.’s position in the global digital assets race.
“For stablecoins and other digital assets to thrive globally, the world needs American leadership,” Bessent posted on X.
“The Senate missed an opportunity to provide that leadership today by failing to advance the GENIUS Act.”
Multiple crypto policy leaders told Decrypt Tuesday they are growing increasingly worried that the political stakes involved pose a very real threat not just to any chance of salvaging the GENIUS Act, but also the rest of the industry’s legislative agenda.
A parallel stablecoin bill is currently making its way through the House, and foundational market structure legislation is pending in both chambers of Congress.
The policy leaders all agreed that this week is do or die for crypto’s political momentum in Washington.
Should the GENIUS Act fail to make significant progress by Friday—as in, pass the cloture vote it failed last week—the situation could become terminal, they warned.
“Grim if something doesn’t give soon,” one D.C. insider put it.
Ethereum has lagged behind Bitcoin and alternative Layer 1s throughout this cycle amid a wave of relative bearishness.
And yet, since the crypto market’s April lows, ETH has surged nearly 100% – gaining 65% in the last 30 days alone to tap $2,750, back above pre-election levels (and key technical levels).
So what’s driving the move?
Analysts at research and brokerage firm Bernstein, led by Gautam Chhugani, said in a Wednesday note to clients that several narratives have been put forward attempting to explain this performance.
While bitcoin claimed all-time highs, crossing the psychological $100,000 barrier, the ETH/BTC ratio has dropped 45% over the past year as bitcoin dominated store-of-value mindshare amid the success of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds and corporate treasury adoption, while retail flows shifted to faster Layer 1s like Solana, the analysts wrote.
Ethereum, caught between its Layer 2 roadmap and limited ETF traction comparatively, was “stuck somewhere in the middle,” they added – neither the best store of value, nor the best blockchain destination for speculative retail trenches.
Stablecoins and tokenization, Layer 2 institutionalization, and an ETH short unwind
However, according to the analysts, the narrative is beginning to change amid a boom in stablecoin and securities tokenization, Layer 2 institutionalization, and an ETH short unwind.
The cycle is expanding beyond store-of-value use cases, they said, with stablecoin payments and tokenized securities gaining real traction.
Stripe’s $1.1 billion acquisition of stablecoin platform Bridge and Meta’s recent comments about reigniting its stablecoin venture are helping to bring back a focus on the underlying blockchains, and Ethereum — which holds 51% of the total stablecoin supply — is emerging as the key platform proxy for this growth trend, they added.
Traditional finance giants like BlackRock and Franklin Templeton are also advancing adoption of a real-world asset tokenization market now valued at over $22 billion, according to RWA.xyz — with Ethereum again dominating deployment.
Secondly, while critics question the value accretion of Layer 2s to ETH, the Bernstein analysts said that with networks like the Coinbase-incubated Base earning revenue of around $84 million last year, Ethereum Layer 2s are taking a growing role in institutional crypto infrastructure. With Robinhood’s recent acquisition of WonderFi — which also runs an Ethereum Layer 2 — brokers may soon offer tokenized equities on their own chains, they argued. Since these Layer 2s use ETH for gas and settlement, they help drive Ethereum demand and position it as a leading platform for institutional smart contract adoption, they added.
Finally, the third driver of ETH’s recent outperformance is more tactical, in the analysts’ view. Over the past 12 to 18 months, crypto hedge funds have often used ETH as a delta-neutral hedge – staying long BTC and SOL while shorting ETH. But as the narrative shifts toward institutional adoption of blockchain and stablecoin payments, and beyond store of value, ETH’s role as the underperformer is becoming harder to justify, they said.
As a result, the resurgence of ETH and other non-bitcoin assets is good for crypto exchanges and broker-dealers, they argued, as a broader crypto market rally reinvigorates retail traders, driving stronger volumes.
We previously discussed how schools were making students remove sweatshirts reading “Let’s Go Brandon.”
I have argued that the shirts should be treated as protected speech.
However, United States District Court Judge Christopher Boyko just delivered another blow to free speech in rejecting a claim for such protection, at least as the basis for injunctive relief, in Conrad v. Madison Local School Dist—Bd. of Ed.
In the prior Michigan case with the sweater shown below, Judge Paul Maloney in D.A. v. Tri County Area Schools (W.D. Mich.) ruled that a “Let’s Go Brandon” T-shirt could be the basis for punishment:
A school can certainly prohibit students from wearing a shirt displaying the phrase F*** Joe Biden. Plaintiffs concede this conclusion. Plaintiff must make this concession as the Supreme Court said as much in Fraser … (“As cogently expressed by Judge Newman, ‘the First Amendment gives a high school student the classroom right to wear Tinker’s armband, but not Cohen’s jacket [which read {F*** the Draft}].’”) The relevant four-letter word is a swear word and would be considered vulgar and profane. The Sixth Circuit has written that “it has long been held that despite the sanctity of the First Amendment, speech that is vulgar or profane is not entitled to absolute constitutional protection.” …
If schools can prohibit students from wearing apparel that contains profanity, schools can also prohibit students from wearing apparel that can reasonably be interpreted as profane. Removing a few letters from the profane word or replacing letters with symbols would not render the message acceptable in a school setting. School administrators could prohibit a shirt that reads “F#%* Joe Biden.” School officials have restricted student from wearing shirts that use homophones for profane words … [such as] “Somebody Went to HOOVER DAM And All I Got Was This ‘DAM’ Shirt.” … [Defendants] recalled speaking to one student who was wearing a hat that said “Fet’s Luck” … [and asking] a student to change out of a hoodie that displayed the words “Uranus Liquor” because the message was lewd. School officials could likely prohibit students from wearing concert shirts from the music duo LMFAO (Laughing My F***ing A** Off) or apparel displaying “AITA?” (Am I the A**hole?)…. Courts too have recognized how seemingly innocuous phrases may convey profane messages. A county court in San Diego, California referred an attorney to the State Bar when counsel, during a hearing, twice directed the phrase “See You Next Tuesday” toward two female attorneys.
Again, I strongly disagreed with that decision. However, it has now been replicated in Ohio.
In his complaint, C.C. details how he was wearing a shirt with the phrase “Let’s Go Brandon” on November 25, 2024, underneath a flannel shirt.
He alleges that teacher (and registered Democrat) Krista Ferini was bothered after spotting the shirt and ordered him to “button that up. I know what that means.”
C.C. did so, but later, he was in a classroom that lacked air conditioning, so he took off his flannel shirt. That is when allegedly Ferini proceeded to write him up for the infraction. Principal Andrew Keeple then instructed C.C. to wear the flannel the rest of the day and never to wear the shirt to school again.
C.C. defied that order and wore the shirt again in January of 2025.
While no one else complained, Ferini was reportedly irate and again wrote up C.C. Keeple declared that C.C. had once again violated the school’s dress code and that the shirt constituted a vulgar expression even though it contained no vulgar terms. He stated that further discipline would follow if C.C. continued to wear the shirt.
On March 24, 2025, C.C. wore the t-shirt again.
While no one complained, he received a detention from Keeple. C.C. was disciplined on two other occasions for wearing the shirt.
The court ruled:
“While this case presents serious questions of student free speech versus a school’s interest in protecting students from vulgar and profane speech, the Court finds Plaintiff has not met his high burden to show a substantial likelihood of success on the merits by clear and convincing evidence. While the D.A. case was on summary judgment and presented facts that are different than those before this Court, Defendant’s burden on summary judgment was a preponderance standard which is a lesser burden than Plaintiff’s here. Moreover, that case presented fact issues going to the reasonableness of the school’s interpretation. Here, as Defendants point out, Plaintiff acknowledges in his Verified Complaint that “Let’s Go Brandon” is a euphemism for F*#% Joe Biden.
“In school speech cases where a school limits or restricts a student’s expression, courts must determine whether the school’s interpretation of the expression is reasonable.”
“The student’s expression must be considered in the proper context but the student’s motivation or subjective intent is irrelevant.”
Given the strong interests of both sides, the unique characteristics of speech in a school setting, the finding by at least one court in this circuit that the school’s interpretation of the phrase as vulgar was reasonable, and the acknowledgment in this case by Plaintiff that the phrase is a vulgar euphemism, the Court finds Plaintiff has not shown a substantial likelihood of success on the merits to support injunctive relief. This does not mean Plaintiff cannot win on the merits of the claim as discovery will likely provide clearer evidence on the reasonableness of the interpretation. But given the high standard for injunctive relief, the Court finds against Plaintiff….”
“Let’s Go Brandon!” has become a similarly unintended political battle cry not just against Biden but also against the bias of the media. It derives from an Oct. 2 interview with race-car driver Brandon Brown after he won his first NASCAR Xfinity Series race. During the interview, NBC reporter Kelli Stavast’s questions were drowned out by loud-and-clear chants of “F*** Joe Biden.” Stavast quickly and inexplicably declared, “You can hear the chants from the crowd, ‘Let’s go, Brandon!’”
This teacher was clearly put out over the political messaging of the shirt. However, we should encourage students to be politically aware and expressive. Moreover, if schools are allowed to extrapolate profane meaning from non-profane language, it is hard to see the limits on such censorship.
So what if students now wear “Let’s Go Krista” shirts? How many degrees of removal will negate the profane imputation. Does that mean that the use of “let’s go” in any shirt is now prohibited?
C.C. and his family should continue to litigate and, if necessary, appeal this worthy case in the interests of free speech for all students.
