Senator Cynthia Lummis has been appointed chairperson of the newly established Senate Banking Subcommittee on Digital Assets through a vote that took place today.
Lummis will lead the newly created subcommittee, which includes other Senators like Thom Tillis, Bill Hagerty, Ruben Gallego, Dave McCormick and Tina Smith.
The panel, formed after Republicans gained control of the Senate in November’s elections, will reportedly focus exclusively on digital assets.
As Congress seeks to uphold President Donald Trump’s pro-crypto policies, economists believe Lummis is in a “pole position” to see through her proposed bill to create a US federal strategic crypto reserve.
Lummis has been a vocal supporter of Bitcoin and crypto since her first-term as a US Senator for Wyoming, in 2021. She has picked up several acronyms for her efforts to draw the US government towards digital currencies, including the name “Senate Crypto Queen.”
“Congress needs to urgently pass bipartisan legislation establishing a comprehensive legal framework for digital assets and that strengthens the US dollar with a strategic bitcoin reserve,” said Lummis after she was announced as the subcommittee chair.
In July 2024, the Wyoming Senator proposed a bill to the US Congress dubbed the “BITCOIN Act,” seeking to create a strategic bitcoin reserve to improve the nation’s financial stability.
"Bitcoin is transforming not only our country but the world and becoming the first developed nation to use Bitcoin as a savings technology secures our position as a global leader in financial innovation,” she remarked.
Lummis also drafted a bill proposing a “Bitcoin Purchase Program” that would enable the US government to acquire up to 200,000 bitcoin annually over five years, culminating in a reserve of 1 million bitcoin.
Last week, she called out the US Marshals Service for planning to liquidate BTC assets seized from the now defunct Silk Road Marketplace.
The senator wants the service to hold onto the coins, because it would “create a financial foundation that will benefit future generations.”
On January 16, through an official letter, Senator Lummis threatened legal action against the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) over allegations that the agency destroyed materials related to digital assets, what she referred to as “Operation Chokepoint 2.0.”
“If it is uncovered that anyone within the FDIC has knowingly destroyed materials or sought to obstruct the oversight functions of the Senate, it will result in swift criminal referrals to the U.S. Department of Justice,” she denoted.
However, in the 2024 Risk Review report, the FDIC and other financial regulatory bodies insisted that banking organizations are “neither prohibited nor discouraged from providing banking services to customers of any specific class or type.”
In her letter, Senator Lummis challenged the FDIC to preserve all materials related to the agency’s digital asset activities since January 1, 2022. This includes any communications with federal and state banking agencies concerning digital assets, as well as documents linked to pending enforcement actions.
In other news, The US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is facing at least three lawsuits that have already been filed against it.
The lawsuits allege that billionaire Elon Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” violate the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA). The 1972 law regulating government advisory committees ensures transparency and accountability within them.
Trump’s reputation for disregarding norms, coupled with the tech industry’s habit of “moving fast and breaking things,” means that these legal challenges to DOGE, and even to the administration more broadly, could have difficulty finding purchase.
The three lawsuits against DOGE were all filed on January 20, the day Trump was sworn in. The legal claims stem from the position that DOGE, a newly formed advisory body, operates outside the constraints of FACA, a law passed in 1972 to regulate the growing number of government advisory bodies.
FACA requires open meetings, balanced representation, and thorough documentation, all of which the plaintiffs claim DOGE has not complied with.
The situation is exciting because of the speed at which Trump’s administration moves. It’s not only a matter of wanting to ‘break things.’ It’s about choosing a fast and decisive course of action in a government that is notorious for its slowness.
DOGE’s legal woes offer a broader ideological clash. One thing is sure: Musk and the other tech moguls entering politics have a record of acting quickly, with little concern for red tape. From electric vehicles to space exploration, this culture of “moving fast and breaking things” has been a hallmark of Silicon Valley.
Musk’s fast, tech-driven approach may soon compete with Washington’s methods. The problem is that legal challenges take time to resolve, and without an immediate injunction, DOGE can keep running as it wants for months before the courts can stop it.
But there’s more at play here. If the administration can keep the legal fight going long enough, they may be able to sidestep the legal framework entirely. Similar to how President Andrew Jackson once defied the Supreme Court’s ruling on Native American land rights, Trump could simply choose to ignore court rulings he doesn’t like. It’s an audacious gambit, and only time will tell whether it will work.
The three lawsuits targeting DOGE have been filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. However, as of January 22, none contained an injunction or a restraining order against the agency.
Therefore, DOGE will function normally until the legal challenges are resolved, giving the administration time to push through its agenda.
