FIRST ON FOX — In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, Republican South Carolina Senator and former presidential candidate Tim Scott shared his views on his first hundred days as Senate Banking Committee chairman, breaking down a trade war with China, the future of cryptocurrency and controversial debanking policies.
With Republicans holding power in both chambers of Congress and President Donald Trump in the White House, party leaders and supporters across the country had high expectations of the GOP’s policy agenda and ability to pass critical legislation swiftly and effectively.
However, it has not been a perfect start to the 119th Congress. Republicans in the House of Representatives hold a slim 7-seat majority, and GOP infighting has forced internal debates that have delayed key pieces of legislation, like Trump’s “big, beautiful” tax bill, which passed last Thursday just 216 to 214.
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On the Senate side, Republicans hold an 8-seat majority over Democrats. With just 100 members in the upper chamber, the same principle of internal harmony must exist for legislation to move forward.
Despite the narrow margins, Scott says some of the policy goals the committee has set they have “been able to accomplish.”
“I wanted within the first hundred days to have some crypto or digital asset legislation marked up and run through our committee,” Scott told Fox News Digital. “Good news is the GENIUS Act is stamped. Done. Heading to the Senate floor. Number two, the FIRM Act. Focusing on debanking. Done. Heading onto the Senate Floor. Number three, our ability to listen to President Trump, the leader of not only our party, but of our country.”
Trump’s role in working with congressional leaders was first demonstrated as every cabinet member that reached the Senate so far for confirmation was approved at the fastest pace in more than 20 years.
“We’ve been running these folks through our committee,” said Scott. “It is a lightning-fast approach, but the good news is President Trump and the American people deserve his team in place. Promises made, promises kept. We are well on our way.”
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Outside the nominees, several prominent issues have made their way through the banking committee in the first hundred days. And one of the hottest items in banking today is the implementation of cryptocurrency into U.S. markets and day-to-day life. Notably, the GENIUS Act, a bill “to provide for the regulation of payment stablecoins,” would be a major advancement for crypto markets, showing the federal government is taking the digital asset market more seriously.
But Scott blamed the Biden administration for the lack of enthusiasm to get pro-crypto legislation signed into law.
“There’s no doubt that under the Biden administration and Gensler at the SEC, they just… didn’t like crypto. What I’ve said very often is simply this: we must innovate before we regulate. That means allowing innovation to happen here at home in the digital asset space is critical to American economic dominance across the globe,” he explained.
The GENIUS Act passed through committee in March and now heads to the Senate Floor. Scott predicted the timeline as to when the bill would be signed into law, telling Fox he believed the legislation would be “passed into law by August.”
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The bill made its way through committee with an 18-6 as Senators Mark Warner, D-Indiana, Andy Kim, D-New Jersey, Ruben Gallego, D-Arizona, Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Pennsylvania and Angela Alsobrooks, D-Maryland all voted with Republican against the wishes of Ranking Leader Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts.
But crypto markets, along with U.S. stocks, have been highly volatile in the past weeks, largely due to Trump’s controversial tariffs policies and trade standoffs.
When asked about the mounting pressure between the U.S. and China, Scott backed Trump’s strategy, telling Fox News Digital, “This is about a country, China, that lies, cheats, and steals. Not on the watch of President Trump. He is going to use every tool in his toolkit to make sure that the Chinese government does not continue to take advantage of the American economy. I am thankful that we finally have a president with a backbone made of steel to stand up to President Xi and protect not just America’s present but America’s future.”
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Scott argued that establishing economic dominance “requires hard conversations and a tariff regime to push China into the smallest corner of the global economy if they’re going to lie, cheat, and steal against us.”
He added, “We are not going to give them full and unfettered access to our market. That’s called common sense.”
On Friday, China raised tariffs on U.S. imports to 125%, which Trump has maintained that a 145% tariff will be placed on China’s imports.
As for the remainder of the 119th Congress and heading into what will be a critical midterm election year, Scott remains optimistic about the policies in progress and the legislation yet to come.
“Thank God Almighty President Trump is in the White House,” the former presidential candidate added.
Preston Mizell is a writer with Fox News Digital covering breaking news. Story tips can be sent to [email protected] and on X @MizellPreston
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