Rep. Steil urges restraint on adding ‘non-germane items’ to crypto bills
US Representative Bryan Steil wants lawmakers to stop adding “non-germane items” into two key crypto bills, claiming that doing so is slowing the implementation of a regulatory framework for the industry.
“Individuals, when they see legislation that’s going to move forward, want to attach non-germane items to any bill that’s going to move through and be signed into law,” Steil, a Republican from Wisconsin who chairs the House Financial Services Subcommittee on crypto, told Cointelegraph at the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas on May 27.
“We have to restrain ourselves from that instinct and attempt by our colleagues — both sides of the aisle,” he added.
Congress’s biggest crypto backers hope to pass the stablecoin-regulating Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act, or GENIUS Act, and a crypto market structure bill before a month-long August recess.
Democratic lawmakers had pulled support for the GENIUS Act on May 8, citing concerns about US President Donald Trump’s crypto ventures potentially conflicting with his presidential duties
Stable Coin and Market Structure legislation will unlock the golden age of digital assets. pic.twitter.com/lSbX5p2Wqt
— Bryan Steil (@RepBryanSteil) May 27, 2025
While the GENIUS Act eventually moved forward in the Senate with a May 20 procedural vote, Steil said the concerns related to Trump aren’t relevant to the bills themselves.
“They’re not germane to the legislative text. The legislative text is focused on putting forward a regulatory framework in which we can enforce actions to strengthen this broader market, in particular to the benefit of American consumers and innovation and development here.”
Democratic Senator Marker Warner voiced a similar sentiment before the GENIUS Act passed on May 19, stating that the US couldn’t “afford to keep standing on the sidelines” while the crypto industry evolves.
“We cannot allow that corruption to blind us to the broader reality: blockchain technology is here to stay,” Warner said. “If American lawmakers don’t shape it, others will — and not in ways that serve our interests or democratic values.”
Steil credits Democrats
Steil acknowledged that Democratic lawmakers have made an effort to better understand the crypto industry’s gripes with how the Biden administration handled regulation and enforcement of the sector.
He said the political landscape and nature of crypto-related negotiations “looked a little different,” but over 70 Democrats in the last Congress signaled the need for clear crypto rules when the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (FIT21) passed the House in May 2024.
Related: Trump supports bill to buy 1 million BTC — Senator Lummis
“I think that was a great practice run,” said Steil.
The FIT21 Act wasn’t enacted before the end of the last Congress However, House Agricultural and Financial Services Committee chairs Glenn Thompson and French Hill introduced a new crypto market structure bill on May 5 that aims to build on FIT21.
If lawmakers pass those bills, they will have the opportunity to explore a lot of other “interesting, creative ideas” in the space, Steil said.
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Additional reporting by Turner Wright
Donald Trump has reignited his row with London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan after calling him a “nasty person” who has done “a terrible job”.
During an hour-long news conference with Sir Keir Starmer in Scotland, the US president hit out at the Labour mayor, who has responded with his own snipey remarks.
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Asked if he would visit London during his state visit in September, Mr Trump said: “I will, I’m not a fan of your mayor, I think he’s done a terrible job.
“A nasty person, I think.”
The prime minister then interrupted and said: “He’s a friend of mine.”
But the president added: “I think he’s done a terrible job but I will certainly visit London, I hope so.”
Sir Sadiq’s spokesperson then released a statement saying: “Sadiq is delighted that President Trump wants to come to the greatest city in the world.
“He’d see how our diversity makes us stronger not weaker; richer, not poorer.
“Perhaps these are the reasons why a record number of Americans have applied for British citizenship under his presidency.”
Sir Sadiq Khan was knighted in June. Pic: PA
They noted that Sir Sadiq has won three mayoral elections, including when Mr Trump lost the US election in 2020.
This is not the first time Mr Trump and Sir Sadiq have locked horns.
Read more:
US and EU agree trade deal
Scots divided as Trump heads to Turnberry
The PM told Mr Trump that Sir Sadiq is a friend of his – seen here laying wreaths for the anniversary of the 7/7 bombings. Pic: PA
During his first presidential term, Mr Trump called the London mayor a “stone cold loser who should focus on crime in London”.
Sir Sadiq then described Mr Trump as a “poster boy for racists”.
And in November 2024, after Mr Trump won his second term, Sir Sadiq said many Londoners would be “fearful” about what it would “mean for democracy”.
However, as Sir Keir tried to show diplomacy with Mr Trump after becoming PM, Sir Sadiq said he “wanted to work closely with the American president” ahead of his inauguration in January.
The London mayor said as somebody “who believes in democracy, and voting and elections, we should recognise the fact that Donald Trump is the elected president of the United States”.
But he added: “Let’s keep our fingers crossed that this president is different from the last time he was president.”
The SEC delayed decisions on the Truth Social Bitcoin ETF and Grayscale’s Solana Trust, extending review periods as the US Congress moves with crypto regulation.
The US House of Representatives will be in recess for the month of August, but the Senate still has a week of business to address two crypto bills before breaking.
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