Senate Panel Grills Trump's AG Pick Over Crypto Enforcement Cuts
Trump's attorney general nominee faced sharp Senate questioning over crypto unit cuts and the pardon of ex-Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao.
President Donald Trump's nominee for US Attorney General came under fire Wednesday from members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, who challenged his stance on cryptocurrency enforcement and pressed him on Trump's decision to pardon former Binance chief executive Changpeng Zhao.
Senators on the committee questioned whether the nominee's approach would effectively dismantle federal efforts to police the crypto industry, raising alarms that rollbacks to dedicated enforcement units could leave digital asset markets more vulnerable to fraud and abuse.
Read more Trump Demands New York Reverse AI Data Center Ban Immediately →
The pardon of Zhao — who had pleaded guilty to federal anti-money-laundering violations as part of a landmark settlement between Binance and US authorities — drew particular scrutiny, with lawmakers suggesting the move sent a troubling signal about accountability in the crypto sector.
The confirmation hearing underscores a broader tension in Washington between the Trump administration's stated ambition to position the United States as a global crypto hub and the concerns of legislators who argue that weakening enforcement sends the wrong message to bad actors at home and abroad.
Continue reading at Cointelegraph.
