Who?Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN) — Senate Banking, Housing & Urban Affairs Committee What? Hagerty’s new bipartisan stablecoin measure: Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act LISTEN: Laslo & HagertyAsk a Pol asks:Congrats on dropping the first stablecoin bill in this Congress. When it comes to that new measure, how do you see a path forward on this? Key Hagerty:“I think it’s pretty simple. We’re building more bipartisan support for the bill right now here in the Senate. I’ve talked with [House Financial Services Committee Chair] French Hill and his team in the House. I think we’re gonna come together. We’re close already” Sen. Hagerty exclusively tells Ask a Pol. “So I feel very good we can get it done within the first 100 days. The White House loves it, [Trump’s AI and Crypto Czar] David Sacks has been very positive on it, so I think we’ve got really good momentum right now.”Subscribe for FREE to get our latest first! Is your measure’s new state component key? “I think that’s really helped us get — in terms of industry support, it’s really helped us broaden the support for it,” Hagerty says. “Absolutely. We needed a state component to make it all work.” ICYMI — America’s first Crypto Congress in full gearCaught our ear:“David Sacks and I are friends from before,” Hagerty tells us. “We’re working well together on this, and our staffs are working well together.” Below find a rough transcript of Ask a Pol’s exclusive interview with Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN), slightly edited for clarity.TRANSCRIPT I: Sen. Hagerty (2-12-2025)SCENE: Sen. Bill Hagerty’s showing a visitor around the Capitol in the middle of a hectic Senate vote, so Ask a Pol’s Matt Laslo gives them space but also slides in for a quick chat. Matt Laslo: “I wanted to say congrats on dropping the first stablecoin bill in this Congress.”Hagerty laughs. Bill Hagerty: “Oh yeah, I feel very good about getting it done.” ML: “What do you — do you think splitting the difference, or solving the problem between states and feds is key?”BH: “Yes. Yeah, absolutely. We needed a state component to make it all work.” ML: “And do you think that’s gonna garner the support you need?”BH: “Yeah, I do.”ML: “I’ll be watching. Thank you!” Please, support our independent crypto journalism. Find us Venmo, PayPal, Cash App — or just buy us a beer!TRANSCRIPT II: Sen. Hagerty (2-13-2025)SCENE: The following day, Laslo sees Sen. Hagerty and an aide heading to a Senate vote when he circles back on their previous mini-interview. Matt Laslo: “Today you don’t have a guest.”Laslo laughs. Bill Hagerty: “How are you doing?”ML: “I felt bad interrupting you with your guest yesterday. But when it comes to your stablecoin measure, how do you see a path forward on this?” BH: “I think it’s pretty simple. We’re building more bipartisan support for the bill right now here in the Senate. I’ve talked with French Hill and his team in the House. I think we’re gonna come together. We’re close already. So I feel very good we can get it done within the first 100 days. The White House loves it, David Sacks has been very positive on it so I think we’ve got really good momentum right now.”ML: “And how essential is it, like…” Laslo slides into the elevator. ML: “I’ll go up with you, if you don’t mind…” ML: “…how essential is it that Congress, because we’ve seen the administration doing a lot and changes at the SEC…?” BH: “The administration — the administration wants to work with us, and I think that’s a critical piece of it. David Sacks and I are friends from before.” ML: “Yeah? Nice.”BH: “We’re working well together on this, and our staffs are working well together.”ML: “We’re getting that bill passed is still essential?”BH: “Uh-huh. I think it’s gonna be — what it’s going to do is provide much needed certainty in the market, and I think it sends an important signal to those as well: We’re going to be dealing responsibly with, you know, in the crypto arena.” ML: “Is that state component the key? Do you think that’s why?”BH: “I think that’s really helped us get — in terms of industry support, it’s really helped us broaden the support for it.”ML: “Preciate ya.”Hagerty enters the Senate chamber to vote. Nicolae Viorel Butler contributed to this article.What should we ask lawmakers this week? Let us know!Content posted at AskaPolcrypto.com is copyrighted. Use our original content to move the story forward. And, please, link to us. Get full access to Ask a Pol crypto at www.askapolcrypto.com/subscribe
