At today's Senate cryptocurrency hearing, Senator John Kennedy disrupted the proceedings with a strange statement. He criticized one of the witnesses, Dr. Richard Painter, calling him the "next level weirdo" while taking issue with a tweet post about a cryptocurrency industry campaign donation he made a month ago.
According to the characteristics of the US political society where Democrats and Republicans are confronting each other at extreme ends, this scene was somewhat strange. Dr. Painter's tweet criticized a Democratic senator, yet Kennedy, a Republican congressman, ended up defending the Democratic senator. Moreover, Kennedy himself had not received any significant donations from the cryptocurrency industry.
Senate Cryptocurrency Hearing Chaos
Cryptocurrency regulation is currently an urgent issue for the US legislature. Important bills are passing through the House and Senate.
The House committee is preparing to review existing bills, and the Senate Banking Committee held a hearing to communicate with cryptocurrency industry leaders.
However, this day's cryptocurrency hearing took an unusual turn when Senator John Kennedy, a Republican, came to ask questions.
After Richard W. Painter, former White House ethics lawyer, testified about upcoming legislation, Senator Kennedy began interrogating him about a social media post. Painter had written this post in May and was actually not directly related to today's testimony.
Specifically, Painter's post noted BeInCrypto's exclusive report about the cryptocurrency industry's political donation to Senator Gillibrand:
The crypto industry is buying Congress, and the White House.
— Richard W. Painter (@RWPUSA) May 22, 2025
This won't end well.
Senator Gillibrand's Role in Stablecoin Regulation – $217,000 in Crypto Donationshttps://t.co/2C4UXxCyD0
"Do you think Senator Gillibrand is a fraud? Why do you think the cryptocurrency industry is buying Senator Gillibrand? Do you want to apologize?" Kennedy asked. When Painter accused him of wasting the committee's time and requested to focus the discussion on the upcoming legislation, Kennedy called him the "next level weirdo".
Considering the strong hostility between Republicans and Democrats, this statement seems somewhat strange. Senator Kennedy's remarks disrupted the hearing, and he did not actually refute that Gillibrand received extensive cryptocurrency campaign donations.
Moreover, Kennedy himself was not a recipient of cryptocurrency donations in the last election.
So, why did Senator Kennedy act this way? Even if Gillibrand's cryptocurrency donations were related to today's hearing, she is not a Republican. Instead, Kennedy should have seized the opportunity to accuse a Democratic member of political corruption.
This incident could demonstrate the level of bipartisan cryptocurrency support in Congress. Some Democratic members who testified today have publicly opposed the cryptocurrency industry and tried to block upcoming bills.
Pro-cryptocurrency Democratic Senator Gillibrand has played a crucial role in passing several bills.
In other words, the two senators largely share the same position on this issue.
Moreover, by focusing on Painter's tweet from a few months ago, the hearing deviated from his actual testimony opposing cryptocurrency legislation. Kennedy's remarks prevented the assembled senators from focusing on potential criticisms of the industry.
Nevertheless, this bizarre incident could highlight a vulnerable situation. While many cryptocurrency companies are actively courting Democrats, Trump's industry connections are becoming a political burden for them.
Such events could make that burden more urgent. If Democratic voters turn their backs on pro-cryptocurrency politicians, it could create problems for bipartisan initiatives.
