The US Defense Act not including a CBDC ban has sparked strong dissatisfaction among Republican radicals

The U.S. House of Representatives approved the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) with a vote of 312 in favor and 112 against, but it subsequently sparked fierce intra-party controversy. According to exchange data, the most notable shortcoming of this defense bill is that the previously promised inclusion of a ban on Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) by Republican leadership was ultimately not written into the bill.

Republican Congressman Keith Self issued a statement on social media platform X, pointing out that conservative members within the party had received a clear promise that the NDAA would include strong measures against CBDCs, but this promise was ultimately broken. It is understood that Self submitted an amendment on Tuesday to add a CBDC ban to the bill, but the amendment failed to be considered and voted on in the House.

In fact, as early as July this year, House Republican leadership had reached an agreement with the party’s radical wing. At that time, in exchange for the radical faction’s support for three cryptocurrency-related bills, leadership promised to include a CBDC ban in the defense spending bill. However, this promise was overturned before the final vote, triggering strong dissatisfaction among the radicals.

Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene also criticized House Speaker Mike Johnson, believing he failed to fulfill the earlier promise regarding the CBDC ban. The defense bill has been submitted to the Senate for review, and the final approval process is expected to be completed by the end of the year. Keith Self stated that he will continue to push for the inclusion of a CBDC ban in the next bill that requires approval, indicating that the policy controversy surrounding central bank digital currencies is far from over.