MAGA

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 2409 into law on September 27, prohibiting state and local public officials and certain public employees from issuing meme coins. AB 2409 works on two fronts: it bans issuance by officials themselves and bars crypto asset businesses from listing the targeted meme coins. It is not a blanket ban on issuance by all politicians, including federal officeholders. Those directly barred from issuing are California state and local public officials and certain employees with decision-making authority over bids and contracts. For federal officials, the law regulates the crypto businesses instead, prohibiting operators from listing meme coins for California residents if they are offered by, or issued with the involvement of, public officials and are newly issued on or after January 1, 2027. The official Trump meme coin TRUMP, issued in 2025, is not immediately delisted within the state under the new law. Violations can prompt the state attorney general and others to seek injunctions and disgorgement of profits, and SB 1208, which Newsom signed the same day, adds crypto assets to the state's money laundering offenses. The governor's office headlined its announcement with "THE OPPOSITE OF TRUMP!" and criticized TRUMP as an example of using public office for personal gain. At the federal level, the final draft of the CLARITY Act released by Senate Republicans on September 14 included ethics provisions restricting digital asset issuance by public officials, but the Senate voted 49 to 50 on September 15 to reject a cloture motion on the motion to proceed, falling short of the 60 votes needed, and the bill has not been enacted.

Senators Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal have asked the US Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate President Trump's meme coin, $TRUMP. The two lawmakers presented estimates showing that from the token's launch in January 2025 through the end of June 2026, roughly 989,000 wallets suffered combined losses of $3.81 billion, and they asserted that Trump earned $636 million in connection with the coin. In their letter, they pointed to signs that the project may have exhibited characteristics of a prolonged soft rug pull, and urged the SEC to investigate from the standpoint of market integrity and investor protection. The request comes as congressional deliberations on the CLARITY Act, which could redefine the federal oversight framework for digital assets, enter a critical phase.