Trump advisers Howard Lutnick, Bo Hines allegedly steered GENIUS Act toward Tether’s favor: Report

President Donald Trump’s advisers Howard Lutnick and Bo Hines allegedly worked behind the scenes before and after Trump’s return to office to weaken parts of the GENIUS Act and shape provisions that favored Tether, the largest stablecoin issuer, Bloomberg reported Wednesday, citing interviews and a court filing.

The report also relies on anonymous crypto industry executives, lobbyists, and current and former US officials who said the pair were among the administration’s most influential voices on the bill.

Preferred provisions survived despite Democratic opposition

Earlier bipartisan efforts in 2023 and 2024, led by Senators Cynthia Lummis and Kirsten Gillibrand, sought to impose strict anti-money-laundering requirements on foreign stablecoin issuers like Tether.

According to the report, Lutnick, then still running Cantor Fitzgerald, which manages Tether’s reserves, lobbied against these measures throughout 2024, while publicly defending the company’s reserve claims. A court filing alleges Tether’s chairman told an associate that Lutnick had effectively blocked the legislation.

After Trump’s inauguration, negotiations over the GENIUS Act drew objections from Senate Democrats, including Elizabeth Warren and Chuck Schumer, who argued the bill had been weakened relative to earlier drafts and could allow continued misuse of stablecoins by sanctioned actors.

Hines, then leading the administration’s digital asset efforts, was said to have downplayed objections and pushed for rapid passage of the bill.

During negotiations, he reportedly argued that Tether’s preferred three-year compliance grace period, rather than the Democrats’ proposed 18-month timeline, was non-negotiable for the White House.

The final version signed by Trump kept that provision, as well as measures allowing foreign regulatory recognition and reducing issuer accountability on decentralized platforms.

The report notes that both advisers had financial or professional ties to Tether that emerged before or shortly after the law’s passage, including Cantor’s discounted stake purchase, a Tether investment in a Trump-linked media company, Hines’ subsequent hiring by Tether, and a company loan to a trust benefiting Lutnick’s family.

Tether and the White House have defended the process as lawful and standard, while critics cited in the piece, including a former Treasury official, warn the resulting loopholes could undercut US anti-money-laundering enforcement and the dollar’s role in global finance.