The CBDC limit expires at the end of 2030, although there was little chance that a Fed digital currency would have been executed by then. There has been limited appetite at the central bank, where its previous leadership — even before the arrival of Trump’s newest Fed chair, Kevin Warsh — had long said such an effort would require White House backing and congressional authorization. There has never been broad support for a CBDC in Congress.
But the idea — strongly opposed by the crypto industry for its potential to compete with privately issued stablecoins — has been pursued in other jurisdictions, such as Europe and China, and it became a popular political target for US politicians. So Republicans managed to slip it into the unrelated housing legislation, after previously trying to include it in a number of bills, including the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
Despite the popularity of the overall housing bill, Trump took an unexpected, last-minute stance against signing it, for which he had previously planned a ceremony and had a stage erected. He declared that he would not sign anything until lawmakers approved a bill that would introduce new proof of citizenship and identity checks for voters — an effort without enough current support to pass in Congress.
