Autor Cointelegraph By Turner Wright

An affiliate of a political action committee (PAC) funded largely by contributions from cryptocurrency companies Ripple Labs and Coinbase has poured more cash into ads for next week’s primary race in Michigan’s 13th Congressional District.According to Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings as of Thursday, the Protect Progress PAC had spent more than a combined $2 million on media to support Michigan Representative Shri Thanedar in the state’s 13th district and oppose his Democratic challenger, Donavan McKinney. The most recent filings effectively doubled what the PAC had reported spending a week prior, with an additional $884,240 on ads to support Thanedar and more than $150,000 to oppose McKinney. Source: FECDuring his time in the US House of Representatives, Thanedar voted in favor of the stablecoin-focused GENIUS Act legislation and the crypto market structure bill currently under consideration in the Senate, the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act. He also cosponsored the Promoting Innovation in Blockchain Development Act in an effort to protect developers. In a July 21 statement on the PAC spending supporting Thanedar, McKinney said “the crypto lobby is paying my opponent back for helping Trump make over $1 billion since taking office.” He was likely referring to the US President disclosing that he earned more than $1.4 billion from crypto investments in 2025, including from his memecoin, Official Trump (TRUMP) and through his family’s business, World Liberty Financial. Many Democrats have accused Trump of using his position to profit from the presidency through laws like GENIUS.Cointelegraph reached out to Thanedar’s and McKinney’s campaigns for comment on the PAC expenditures but did not receive an immediate response.Related: US senators sent revised ethics rules to White House for CLARITY Act: ReportProtect Progress is an affiliate of the Fairshake PAC, which was responsible for spending more than $170 million in the 2024 US election cycle through media supporting candidates it considered favoring crypto industry-aligned policies. The Michigan primary is scheduled for Tuesday, but the PAC and its affiliates have already poured millions of dollars into 2026 races in Texas, Illinois and other states.The US consumer advocacy group Public Citizen reported in June that Fairshake and its affiliates were responsible for spending more than $82 million out of the roughly $189 million crypto companies had used in the 2026 election cycle. Fairshake reported holding a $193 million war chest as of January.PAC spending in Washington and Alabama with primaries loomingIn addition to Michigan’s primaries, the Fairshake affiliate Defend American Jobs PAC spent more than $65,000 on media to support a Republican running in Washington’s 4th congressional, according to FEC filings. Washington is scheduled to hold primaries the same day as Michigan.Alabama, scheduled to hold primaries on Aug. 11, has also been a focus for Fairshake. FEC filings showed that Defend American Jobs spent more than $511,000 on media to support Jerry Carl Jr., a Republican who represented the state’s 1st congressional district from 2021 to 2025. Notably, the former Alabama lawmaker was one of the wealthiest in the state’s House delegation, with a reported net worth of up to $15 million in 2023.Magazine: Crypto lobby spending on Republicans far outpaces Democratic support

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Cointelegraph is committed to providing independent, high-quality journalism across the crypto, blockchain, AI, and fintech industries.All news, reviews, and analyses are produced with full journalistic independence and integrity. For more details on our standards and processes, please read our Editorial Policy.

Cointelegraph is committed to providing independent, high-quality journalism across the crypto, blockchain, AI, and fintech industries.All news, reviews, and analyses are produced with full journalistic independence and integrity. For more details on our standards and processes, please read our Editorial Policy.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer introduced legislation to create a new US government agency focused entirely on addressing corruption at the federal level, noting President Donald Trump’s gains from “various, and extremely lucrative, cryptocurrency ventures.”In a Thursday notice, Schumer said that he had introduced a bill called the Anti-Corruption Bureau Creation Act, which, if passed, would have the authority to “investigate, enforce, and prevent executive branch corruption.” The text of the bill addressed Congress’ findings that Trump had disclosed earning more than $2 billion from investments in 2025, including $1.4 billion tied to crypto, and his family had more than $1 billion in a crypto fund tied to foreign governments.In a Public Citizen forum describing the bill, Schumer described the anti-corruption agency as having “real teeth” with enforcement authority, and consisting of a bipartisan group of seven members to be confirmed by the Senate. The legislation also provided mechanisms for private citizens and state authorities to recover funds that Schumer said had been stolen from “Americans through corruption.““This new bureau is one where these institutions work in symbiosis, strengthening each other and eliminating barriers between them which often got in the way,” said Schumer. “It replaces a broken patchwork of watchdogs, none of which were built for this moment, with one, powerful anti-corruption agency, ready to act anywhere, anytime corruption strikes.” Senator Chuck Schumer announcing the Anti-Corruption Bureau Creation Act on Thursday. Source: Public CitizenTrump’s ties to the cryptocurrency industry have been a sticking point for many Democrats in Congress considering their support for a comprehensive market structure bill called the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act. Although the White House agreed to certain ethics provisions in the bill, many lawmakers say the measures do not go far enough to address the president’s potential conflicts of interest.Related: Ethics remain sticking point as crypto market structure bill goes to markupNotably, the proposed anti-corruption agency would place the US Federal Election Commission, Office of Government Ethics and Office of Special Counsel “under one roof“ within the new bureau. Cointelegraph reached out to the White House for comment on the proposed legislation but did not receive an immediate response.Senators Andy Kim, Alex Padilla and Jeff Merkley cosponsored the bill with Schumer. The introduction of the bill also came the same week Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Van Hollen held a public forum to address Trump’s ties to the crypto industry. The bill would require Republican support to pass in the US House of Representatives and Senate, where the party holds a slim majority. If it were to advance in both chambers before 2028, Trump could still veto the legislation and send it back to Congress, where it would need a two-thirds majority to override the president’s action.Crypto bill is still under consideration in SenateThe US Senate has just over a week left before lawmakers break for a month-long state work period, leaving many scrambling to pass bills before the 2026 US midterms potentially complicate discussions on their return.“The big question at this very minute is where the CLARITY Act stands,“ said former US Securities and Exchange Commission official John Reed Stark following his appearance at Blumenthal’s and Van Hollen’s Monday forum. “Of all the experts and political insiders I spoke with yesterday, not one could say for sure what happens this week with the CLARITY Act. There is enormous drama surrounding this legislation.“As of Thursday, the Senate had not scheduled a vote on the bill, despite pushes from many Republican lawmakers and industry leaders. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said on Wednesday that the bill was at the “one-yard line,“ and Senator Cynthia Lummis, who has long advocated for the market structure legislation, has continued to push for a vote.Magazine: Will the crypto lobby’s $189M campaign get CLARITY over the line?