Some Senate Republicans are raising concerns about an exclusive dinner and White House tour President Donald Trump is offering top investors in his $TRUMP meme token.
“This is my president that we’re talking about, but I am willing to say that this gives me pause,” said Sen. Cynthia Lummis, of Wyoming, who has been spearheading a legislative push on cryptocurrency regulation in the Senate.
The official website for Trump’s meme coin announced last week that the top 220 holders of the coin are invited to an “intimate private dinner” with the president at his golf club outside of Washington, D.C., later this month. The top 25 investors will also receive an invitation to a “VIP White House Tour” the following day, according to the website. The $TRUMP meme coin surged more than 50% after the dinner news broke, boosting its total market value to $2.7 billion.
The offer of access to the president for those who invest in an organization that funds Trump’s personal fortune has sparked scrutiny from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, who often bucks her party, expressed uneasiness about the event, though she noted she didn’t have all of the details.
“I don’t think it would be appropriate for me to charge people to come into the Capitol and take a tour.” Murkowski told NBC News on Thursday.
While using untraceable crypto currency to pay for access to the president raised questions for some senators, there are no laws barring Trump and the organization from proceeding as planned.
“He’s got to remember that he’s living there, but it’s the people’s house, right?” Murkowski added.
Lummis, a staunch ally of the president, said Wednesday in an interview that she thinks Congress needs to regulate standards around the use of digital assets like meme coins. Meme coins, often referred to as meme tokens, are a subset of digital assets that use blockchain technology and derive their value largely from internet culture rather than from an underlying utility or asset.
“This is the Wild West, and so when I hear things like this, my reaction is, we need to legislate so there are rules.” Lummis said. …