
MTG links Trump's crypto bill to the Biblical end of time as she quotes Book of Revelation
Referring to a passage of the Revelations, Greene insinuated that if the bill, called the GENIUS Act, did not explicitly ban digital currency from being issued by a central bank, it could lead to the demise of the world.
'I will not vote for this,' Greene wrote on X. 'The only way to guarantee a ban on a central bank digital currency is through law.'
The Georgia lawmaker then went on to cite Revelations 13:16-17, which claims each person, regardless of wealth or status, must have the 'mark of the beast' – a metaphor for evil and often associated with '666' – in order to participate in buying or selling. It is part of the Biblical story of Armageddon.
The GENIUS bill, which stands for Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act, seeks to create a regulatory framework for stablecoins – a form of cryptocurrency that is considered less volatile than typical cryptocurrency.
If passed, it would be the first major piece of legislation to create regulations around stablecoin, which have become popular digital currencies. Stablecoins function like digital tokens and are pegged to more stable assets such as the U.S. dollar.
Supporters of the bill, which includes President Donald Trump, believe it could expand the use of stablecoin by providing a framework to protect consumers. But opponents believe it's not strict enough and leaves too much room for risk.
But Greene believes the act should include a provision explicitly banning central bank digital currency. Some lawmakers and crypto advocates have raised concerns that if digital currencies were to become more integrated in the U.S. financial system that authorities, such as the Federal Reserve, could create a centralized bank to control or monitor cryptocurrency.
One of the aspects of crypto that attracts people is its decentralized nature.
The House is already voting on another piece of legislation, called the Anti-Central Bank Digital Currency Surveillance State Act, that addresses those concerns.
Greene often shares her perspective on the intersection between her religious beliefs and her political endeavors.
On X, shortly before sharing her view on the GENIUS Act, Greene said her 'blind loyalty and faith' was 'only in God and Jesus Christ.'
It's widely agreed upon that lawmakers are, above all, loyal to the Constitution, which is what they pledge when they take the oath of office.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Independent
16 minutes ago
- The Independent
Trump administration plans to reopen notorious prison
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum are expected to visit Alcatraz on Thursday to announce plans to convert it back into a federal prison. The proposal to reopen Alcatraz as a high-security prison was initially put forward by Trump, who described the island as a "symbol of law and order." Bureau of Prisons officials have conducted initial assessments, noting that while the island is safe for visitors, some buildings are deteriorated, with restoration potentially exceeding $1 billion. The plan has faced significant criticism from state and local leaders, including Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, who labelled it Trump's "stupidest initiative yet," and San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie. Alcatraz, which closed in 1963 due to high operating costs, currently generates approximately $60 million annually from tourism and is a popular visitor attraction.


The Independent
16 minutes ago
- The Independent
The Latest: House prepares to advance cuts on public broadcasting and foreign aid
The House is expected to approve President Donald Trump's request to claw back about $9 billion in already appropriated funding for public broadcasting and foreign aid Thursday evening. The White House had described the rescissions package as a test case and said that if Congress went along, more would come. The House's approval would mark the first time in decades that a president has successfully submitted a rescissions request to Congress. Opponents voiced concerns not only about the programs targeted, but about Congress ceding its spending powers to the executive branch as investments approved on a bipartisan basis are being subsequently cancelled on a party-line basis. No Democrats supported the measure when it passed the Senate in the early morning hours Thursday, 51-48, and two Republicans also voted no. Columbia University and White House are negotiating University officials met with administration officials to discuss ways to restore federal funding that has been withheld from the school. That's according to a person familiar with the meeting who requested anonymity to disclose a private conversation. Columbia is one of the universities that has been targeted by Trump. More sanctions against Tren de Aragua leaders New measures announced by the Treasury and State departments on Thursday designate the gang's chief, Hector Rusthenford Guerrero, and five other top leaders as members of a transnational criminal organization, blocking their property and assets. A reward of $5 million for information leading to Guerrero's arrest or conviction was offered more than a year ago. Tren de Aragua has already been designated a 'foreign terrorist organization' by the State Department for its involvement in the illicit drug trade, extortion, money laundering, human smuggling and trafficking, and the sexual exploitation of women and children. Some alleged gang members who had been imprisoned in the U.S. have been deported to a high-security prison in El Salvador. Former Fox News host advanced as top federal prosecutor in DC The Senate Judiciary Committee has advanced former Fox News host Jeanine Pirro to be the top federal prosecutor for the nation's capital. The committee's Republican members voted unanimously Thursday to send Pirro's nomination to the Senate floor after Democrats walked out to protest Emil Bove's nomination to become a federal appeals court judge. Pirro has served as acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia since May. Trump withdrew his first pick, Ed Martin Jr., after a key Republican senator said he could not support him, given Martin's outspoken support for rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol. Before she replaced Martin, Pirro cohosted the Fox News show 'The Five' on weekday evenings. She was elected as a judge in New York's Westchester County Court in 1990 before serving three terms as the county's elected district attorney. A previous Border Patrol hiring spree offers lessons as ICE expands As Immigration and Customs Enforcement prepares to add 10,000 employees in five years to enable Trump's mass deportations, the Border Patrol's torrid expansion in the early 2000s serves as a cautionary tale. Hiring and training standards were loosened, arrests for employee misconduct rose and attrition spiked. 'If they don't uphold pretty rigorous standards and background checks, you can end up hiring the wrong people, and then you pay a huge price in how the public perceives them,' said Gil Kerlikowske, who ran Customs and Border Protection from 2014 to 2017. ICE is set to get $76.5 billion, nearly 10 times its annual budget, under the bill Trump signed. 'The unprecedented funding for ICE will enable my hard-working officers and agents to continue making America safe again by identifying, arresting and removing criminal aliens from our communities,' acting ICE director Todd Lyons said. ▶ Read more about what happened the last time ICE tried rapid expansion More than a million US children could be displaced. HUD secretary says helping them is wasteful Amid a worsening national affordable housing and homelessness crisis, Trump's administration is determined to reshape HUD's expansive role providing stable housing for low-income people, which has been at the heart of its mission for generations. At a June congressional budget hearing, HUD Secretary Scott Turner argued that imposing a two-year limit on rental assistance will fix waste and fraud in public housing and Section 8 voucher programs. 'It's broken and deviated from its original purpose, which is to temporarily help Americans in need,' Turner said. 'HUD assistance is not supposed to be permanent.' ▶ Read more from the AP's examination of proposed limits on rental assistance Trump's proposed HUD time limit could evict 1.4 million of nation's poorest renters More than 1 million low-income households — most of them working families with children — who depend on the nation's public housing and Section 8 voucher programs could lose government-subsidized homes under the Trump administration's proposal to impose a two-year time limit on rental assistance. New research from New York University obtained exclusively by The Associated Press the limit could affect as many as 1.4 million households helped by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The NYU report published Thursday predicts 'enormous disruption and large administrative costs,' for public housing authorities that 'would have to evict all of these households and identify new households to replace them.' Democrats walk out as Republicans advance judicial nomination of Emil Bove The uproar started when Republican Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley moved to vote on the nomination of Bove, a top Justice Department official, to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Democratic Sen. Cory Booker expressed frustration that not all voices had been heard yet, prompting the rest of the Democrats on the committee to walk out before Republicans advanced his nomination to the floor. Bove, who along with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche served as a criminal defense lawyer for Trump, has been behind some of the most scrutinized Justice Department actions since Trump returned to office, including the dismissal of New York City Mayor Eric Adams' corruption case. A former Justice Department lawyer accused Bove of suggesting the department might have to defy court orders. Bove denied that claim. Blanche wrote in a piece published by Fox News Wednesday that Bove's 'legal acumen is extraordinary, and his moral clarity is above reproach.' 'Hamilton' 10th anniversary is a fundraiser for immigration services Lin-Manuel Miranda plans to use the 10th anniversary Broadway performance of 'Hamilton' to raise about $3 million for the Immigrants: We Get the Job Done Coalition, a group of 14 nonprofits including the National Immigration Law Center. Miranda told The Associated Press that he remains surprised by the joyous audience reaction to the 'Immigrants: We get the job done' line that's shared in the show by Hamilton and French military officer Marquis de Lafayette. 'It's one of the things that just heartens me and gives me hope. In these dark times, it still gets a big cheer,' Miranda said. 'It's the same reason why that No Kings protest vastly outnumbered the military parade happening on the same day: There are still a lot of people who believe in basic decency and treating people who come here — often from really tough situations — with humanity.' OMB chief applauds rescissions package, says another will come 'soon' Russ Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, says the imminent passage of a new package of spending cuts shows 'enthusiasm' for getting the nation's fiscal situation under control. 'We're happy to go to great lengths to get this thing done,' Vought said during a Thursday breakfast with reporters hosted by the Christian Science Monitor. In response to questions about the relatively small size of the cuts — $9 billion — Vought said it's because 'I knew it would be hard' to pass in Congress, and that more are coming. Another rescissions package is 'likely to come soon,' Vought said. 'But we're not there yet.' House tees up vote to claw back foreign aid, public broadcasting funds The House is expected to take up Trump's request to claw back about $9 billion for foreign aid and public broadcasting on Thursday evening. 'We can't be spending taxpayer funds overseas, engaging in all sorts of nefarious activities. That's what this rescissions package is about, to stop that,' Speaker Mike Johnson said. 'We need to get back to fiscal sanity and this is an important step.' The Senate approved the package in the early morning hours Thursday. If the House does the same, the bill would go to Trump's desk for his signature. Supporters of the foreign aid spending say it's miniscule for the amount of good it does in saving lives and enhancing the standing of the United States around the world. Fired State Department employees say Americans aren't being told the truth They spoke with The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, fearing reprisals as they remain on the payroll until September. 'The American people aren't getting all of the facts about what the department has done,' said one officer working in intelligence. This person said their team's work had been transferred to office that lacks capacity to handle the sensitive material. Others were tasked with maintaining U.S. energy dominance, 'a centerpiece of our foreign policy,' Rubio said at his confirmation hearing. 'The fact that they got rid of all the energy experts who would promote oil and gas sales overseas clearly undermines everything that they're saying,' the official said. The list also includes intelligence analysts who specialize in Russia and Ukraine, and experts with deep institutional and cultural knowledge of China, leaving the U.S. exposed to a country Rubio labeled 'the most significant long-term risk to the United States.' Trump's State Department says it needs to be nimble The dismissals are a major concern for staffers being tasked with additional duties to make up for losses in key areas like intelligence and research, consular affairs, diplomatic security, energy, and international and educational organizations. Deeply skeptical Democratic lawmakers predict a devastating impact on U.S. diplomacy. But Michael Rigas, the State Department official who sent employees the layoff notices, tried Wednesday to allay such concerns, denying that the cuts were made in a haphazard and irresponsible manner to the detriment of national security. Rigas told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday that the department had grown to more than 76,000 employees worldwide and a massive reorganization was needed to keep it relevant and nimble to respond to foreign crises and policy challenges. The department 'became large and began to lose its way,' becoming 'ineffectual bureaucratically,' spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters Wednesday. Where the State Department cuts are hitting According to a list that current and former foreign service officers compiled and sent to Congress, the layoffs include: 1. more than 100 people whose work in the Bureau of Consular Affairs is self-funded from passport and visa fees. They investigated passport fraud and people who oversaw contracts to provide American citizen services including processing passport applications, 2. experts responsible for dealing with visa fraud and money laundering in Russia and Eastern Europe, transnational criminal organizations and migrant worker visa fraud in Mexico and Central America. 3. A small team in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs that supported the Secretary of State's trip to Malaysia last week and were fired as Marco Rubio was flying back to Washington. 'There's no one left to do what we were doing,' said a laid-off employee with more than 30 years of experience. State Department layoffs complicate key Trump priorities U.S. experts who coordinated intelligence activities, promoted U.S. energy interests abroad and shaped America's strategy for competing with China are among the more than 1,300 State Department employees whose firings eliminated hundreds of years of institutional knowledge and experience. The move has America's diplomatic workforce wondering who — if anyone — will do critical work to keep the U.S. safe and competitive on the world stage. Many of the offices 'abolished' Friday under Secretary of State Marco Rubio's dramatic reorganization plan worked on Trump's priorities such as combating visa fraud and countering China. Other cuts could delay the processing of of passport applications. Trump officials said the mass dismissals are overdue and necessary to make the department leaner and more efficient. Wall Street steady again after Trump downplays threat to Fed Chair Jerome Powell's job Markets, as well as the dollar, took a quick dive Wednesday on reports that Trump was talking about terminating Powell, but calm was restored after Trump walked back his threats. Futures for the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq were essentially flat in early trading Thursday. Trump has harshly criticized Powell and his Fed colleagues for the decision to stand pat on interest rates at a time when the economy is broadly healthy and unemployment is low. Now Trump said the central bank chief could be fired over cost overruns on a $2.5 billion renovation project at the Fed's headquarters. Wall Street loves lower rates because they goose prices higher for stocks and other investments, but Powell has insisted on waiting to see how Trump's tariffs affect the economy and inflation. ▶ Read more about today's financial markets Trump administration says civil rights groups are doing the discriminating The administration has said many policies implemented by both Democratic and Republican administrations are discriminatory and unconstitutional, arguing that acknowledgments of race and federal and corporate policies that seek to address disparities between different demographics are themselves discriminatory. Trump has signed executive orders banning 'illegal discrimination' and promoting 'merit based opportunity.' In response to the Urban League's report, White House spokesman Harrison Fields said civil rights groups that oppose the administration 'aren't advancing anything but hate and division, while the president is focused on uniting our country.' Urban League declares a 'state of emergency' for civil rights One of the nation's oldest civil rights organizations is calling for a 'new resistance' to the administration's agenda. The National Urban League's annual State of Black America report accuses the federal government of being 'increasingly determined to sacrifice its founding principles,' according to a copy obtained by The Associated Press. 'For a long time, people saw white supremacist politics and white nationalism as on the fringe of American politics. It has now become the mainstream of the American right, whose central foundation is within the Republican Party,' said Marc Morial, president of the Urban League. The report directly critiques Project 2025, condemns major corporations, universities and top law firms for reversing diversity, equity and inclusion policies and accuses social media companies of censoring Black voices while enabling 'extremists' to spread 'radicalizing' views. ▶ Read more about the State of Black America report Nationwide protests planned against Trump's immigration crackdown and health care cuts Protests against the Trump administration's mass deportations and cuts to the nation's health and safety nets for poor people are planned Thursday at more than 1,600 locations around the country. The 'Good Trouble Lives On' national day of action honors the late congressman and civil rights leader John Lewis. Organizers are calling for the demonstrations to be peaceful, as Lewis would have wanted. 'We are navigating one of the most terrifying moments in our nation's history,' Public Citizen co-president Lisa Gilbert said during an online news conference. 'We are all grappling with a rise of authoritarianism and lawlessness within our administration ... the rights, freedoms and expectations of our very democracy are being challenged.' Republican senators caution Trump against firing Fed chair Jerome Powell Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is gaining some key backing on Capitol Hill from GOP senators who fear the repercussions if Trump follows through with threats to try and remove the politically independent central banker. As Trump seemingly waffled back and forth this week on trying to dismiss the Fed chair, some Republicans in Congress began to speak up and warn that such a move would be a mistake. Trump would potentially obliterate the Fed's independence from political influence and inject uncertainty into the foundations of the U.S. economy if he fires Powell. 'If anybody thinks it would be a good idea for the Fed to become another agency in the government subject to the president, they're making a huge mistake,' GOP North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis said in a floor speech. The measure of support from GOP members of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs showed how traditional Republicans are carefully navigating a presidency in which Trump often flirts with ideas — like steep tariffs or firing the Fed chair — that threaten to undermine confidence in the U.S. economy.


Daily Mail
17 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
The staggering figure Trump has already raised from tariffs as US economy continues to defy expectations
The Trump administration has collected almost $50 billion from tariffs since initiating a global trade war in April. So far only Canada and China have retaliated against the steep tariffs that President Donald Trump has either threatened or imposed on much of the world. The White House currently imposes a minimum tariff of 10 percent on all foreign imports, 50 percent on steel and aluminum and 25 percent on car parts. US revenues from customs duties hit $64 billion in the second quarter of this year. The record high represents $47 billion more than the same period last year, according to US Treasury data. The duty income from other countries' tariffs on American goods has paled in comparison to the US revenue made in the same period. Many countries decided against retaliating with their own levies in a desperate bid to avoid even higher rates as negotiations took place. The EU, the world's biggest trading bloc, has put off implementing planned tariffs ahead of Trump's August 1 deadline for talks to conclude. It comes as The Wall Street Journal's chief economics correspondent delivered a surprise assessment on Wednesday - saying that Trump is 'winning' on trade policy. Greg Ip published his latest take on Trump's tariff wars in the publication on Tuesday, while criticizing the cruel nickname assigned to him after he 'chickened out' of imposing extreme tariffs. 'Trump has, by his own definition of success, already won his trade war,' Ip wrote, 'even without [the] deals' he vowed to reach with foreign allies. Trump faced harsh criticism for backing down on his 'Liberation Day' tariffs, earning him the moniker 'TACO' for 'Trump Always Chickens Out.' Trump threatened to redouble tariffs on any country that defied him by raising tariffs on the US, meaning many saw economic prudence in not hitting back. America also has an upper hand as the world's largest consumer market, meaning countries cannot afford for the US market for their goods to dry up. 'Unlike the 1930s when countries had more balanced trading relationships, today's world features a hub-and-spoke system with the US at the centre,' Marta Bengoa, professor of international economics at City University of New York, told The Financial Times. 'That makes retaliation economically less desirable for most countries, even when it might be politically satisfying.' Alexander Klein, professor of economic history at the University of Sussex, agreed, arguing that countries and blocs such as the EU are looking to minimize any further escalation and the inflation such a scenario could induce. US revenue from customs duties raked in $64 billion in the second quarter of the year The duty income from other countries' tariffs on American goods has paled in comparison to the US revenue made in the second quarter of this year Trump faced harsh criticism for backing down on his 'Liberation Day' tariffs, earning him the moniker 'TACO' for 'Trump Always Chickens Out' 'I'd like to think leaders were learning the lessons of history, but I fear that's optimistic. More likely, the EU, Canada and many other governments fear the hit to global supply linkages and inflation from escalation,' he said. 'Trump cares less about that, so is taking advantage.' Consumers have been warned that prices for everyday goods, including groceries, will rise as a result of the levies. However, supply chain experts say companies are finding ways to spread the cost out across global markets to minimize the impact on US consumers, The Financial Times reported. 'Global brands can try and swallow some of the tariff cost through smart sourcing and cost savings but the majority will have to be distributed across other markets, because US consumers might swallow a 5 percent increase, but not 20 or even 40,' supply chain expert Simon Geale told the publication. Nonetheless grocery giant Walmart said it is raising its prices to offset the cost of tariffs. Equally car giants have started to raise their prices to maintain their profit margins. But despite rising prices, Americans continued shopping in June, according to new data released Thursday by the US Commerce Department. Retail sales rose 0.6 percent last month, which is a major boost compared to the 0.9 percent decline in May. The June numbers were also stronger than analysts expected. Economists predicted retail sales would rebound only 0.2 percent. 'June's retail sales were resilient and they show that the consumer is still willing and able to spend,' Neil Saunders, a retail expert at GlobalData, told