Washingon, DC Congress Democrats threatened litigation, introduced legislation and planned protests in the construction of US President Donald Trump’s Memecoin dinner.
Trump, whose affiliated companies issued $ Trump Memecoin just days before he was inaugurated for his second period, announced that he would host the 220 largest holders of his token for a dinner at the Trump National Golf Club in Potomac Falls, Virginia on Thursday, which led to a price tip when interested parties immediately bought several tokens to secure an invitation.
Critics called The Move Corrupt and pointed to the fact that foreign buyers who otherwise could not legally donate money to the president bought tokens as well as the opacity around their buyer – many of the dinner’s participants are unknown, and some even pointed to the ability to maintain anonymity as a factor in their decision to go, according to the Washington Post.
The throne creator Justin Sun boasted of being the top holder of the token ahead of dinner, with blockchain discoverers who suggested that the wallet with the biggest $ Trump attitude is tied to HTX, a crypto exchange connected to Sun.
Legal action
Senator Richard Blumenthal, the Connecticut Democrat, who previously wrote open letters to two Trump-affiliated companies asking for their crypto-ventures, told journalists in a press call arranged by center-left watchdog responsible for us that Trump “auctioned” access to the White House with the Memecoin midst.
“What happens tonight … is in effect, and puts a” for sale “sign at the White House,” said Blumenthal. “It auctions access. He literally says to investors,” the more you buy from my Memecoin, the greater your chance to come to dinner with me. “
Blumenthal suggested that a trial could force Trump to comply with at least some rules regarding foreign gifts or payments.
Under Trump’s first Presidency, Blumenthal and other members of Congress Trump sued for allegedly violating the U.S. Constitution’s foreign remuneration clause, which prohibits public officials from taking gifts from foreign governments without the permission of Congress. Although an appeal court eventually mixed the case, Blumenthal said on Thursday he’s ready to try again.
“If there was a permit from Congress, members would bring a lawsuit. I would be more than happy to do it. I would be eager to do so,” he said.
Even if Congress does not approve this, private groups, such as bodies of general interest, could also bring a lawsuit that legislators could support through Amicus threats, he said.
“And essentially, the claim would be that he violates the provision of the US Constitution that prohibits payments or benefits from a foreign power, plenipotentiary,” he said. “It is specifically listed in the Constitution unless he has consent to Congress and he has no consent.”
New bills
Representative Maxine Waters, the ranked Democrat of House Financial Services Committee, pressed a new bill on Thursday, which in turn seeks to make the president’s crypto relationship illegal. Legislation – labeled Stop Trade, Retention and Unmistaker Market Payment in the Crypto Act of 2025, carefully named for an abbreviation such as Stop Trump in the Crypto Act – prohibits senior government officials and legislators to own, control or serve as an officer in a crypto company or token issuers, and also to trade in digital activates, Because they have had a special insight.
“Nowhere is Trump’s obvious ignoring and respect for the rule of law more clearly than in the way he has exploited the presidency’s office to promote shady, fraudulent crypto -ventures that have no real value and serve no real purpose other than pading his pockets,” Waters said in a statement as she announced the legislation.
A White House spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the setback from Democrats. During a press briefing, the White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Trump “attended [the dinner] In his personal time. “
“It’s not a dinner in the White House, it doesn’t take place here,” she said when asked if the White House would share the names of the participants.
Waters’ Bill is essentially similar to earlier efforts from Senator Chris Murphy, a Connecticut democrat behind ACT Modern Emoluments and Malfeasance Enforcement (MEME), and representative Sam Liccardo, who also had a bill in parliament.
However, the Democrats, who protest Trump’s dinner, reveal the party’s crypto split. These are largely the same legislators who have maintained resistance to crypto legislation, while another fraction of the party recently joined Republicans to promote a stablecoin bill in the Senate. Their argument: Trump’s actions can be inappropriate – or even illegal – but new legislation does not need to further emphasize this point.
Additional protests
Democratic senators Elizabeth Warren, Jeff Merkley and Murphy held a press conference on Thursday afternoon with consumer lawyer groups to reject the president’s dinner plans. Legislators demand that Trump reveal the names of tonight’s participants.
“With foreign interconnected wallets, unspecified transactions and no press allowed, the event is raising alarming questions about foreign influence, national security and the growing corruption in the heart of Trump’s Crypto Empire,” they said in a statement announcing the press conference at US Capitol.
During the press conference itself, Warren, the supreme Democrat of the Senate’s banking committee, stood in front of a podium with posters saying “Slip the Guest List” and asked “Who Coming For Dinner?”
“Tonight is the orgy of corruption,” Warren said at the press conference on Thursday. She appointed the expected participation of Tron’s Sun and said he “will have a particularly good time for tonight’s dinner,” after Securities and Exchange Commission paused his throne enforcement work during the Trump administration.
“Even if you release the names, it’s still corrupt,” argued Murphy on Thursday, adding that at least sharing the participating info “shows us who bought access to him.”
“This president is coin -operated, both literally and figuratively,” said Liccardo, who added that Trump’s claim to participate in a personal capacity can open him to legal charges.
Merkley was also ready to attend an evening protest near the gold club dinner just outside Washington.
Read more: Trump’s Memecoin -Dinner draws overcrowded role crews by democratic protesters from Congress
Update (22 May 2025, 19:20 UTC): Adds information from Senate DEM’s press conference.
