President Donald Trump's pick for US Attorney General faced sharp questioning from Senate Judiciary Committee members on Thursday over his approach to cryptocurrency enforcement and the recent pardon of former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao. The hearing, which stretched past three hours, saw bipartisan unease over how the Department of Justice would handle digital asset cases under the nominee's leadership.
Crypto enforcement under the microscope
Several committee members pressed the nominee on whether he would continue the aggressive crackdown on crypto firms that marked the Biden administration's tenure. The nominee declined to commit to specific enforcement priorities, saying only that he would follow the law. That answer didn't satisfy critics who want clearer guardrails for an industry that has grown rapidly since 2024.
Senators on both sides of the aisle noted the lack of a coherent federal framework for digital assets. One Democratic member pointed to the patchwork of state-level regulations and asked whether the nominee would push for national standards. The nominee said he would consult with the SEC and CFTC but offered no timeline.
The Binance pardon that won't go away
The most heated exchange came over Trump's decision to pardon Changpeng Zhao, the former CEO of Binance, who had pleaded guilty to money laundering violations in 2023. The nominee defended the pardon as a lawful exercise of executive clemency but struggled to explain why Zhao — who served only a few months of a sentence — received relief while other non-violent offenders remain incarcerated.
“This looks like special treatment for a billionaire who ran a company that admitted to breaking US sanctions,” one senator said. The nominee responded that the president has broad pardon power and that he would not second-guess the decision. That did little to cool the room.
What happens next
The committee is expected to vote on the nomination next week. With Republicans holding a narrow majority, the nominee can likely afford only a handful of defections. Several undecided members said they want written answers on crypto enforcement policy before they cast their vote. The full Senate would then take up the nomination, likely before the August recess.
