A vote on prospective CFTC Chair Brian Quintenz was taken off the Senate Agriculture Committee’s agenda on Monday as the chamber heads into recess. The Senate Agriculture Committee has pulled a planned hearing on Brian Quintenz’s nomination to chair the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), following a request from the White House just days before lawmakers leave for August recess. In an update to the committee’s schedule on Monday, chair John Boozman and ranking member Amy Klobuchar said lawmakers would not consider Brian Quintenz’s nomination to chair the CFTC. A spokesperson for the committee told Cointelegraph that consideration of Quintenz’s nomination was removed following a request from the White House. Cointelegraph reached out to the White House for comment but had not received a response at the time of publication. Read more
Pakistan’s crypto minister met with Trump’s digital asset leadership to promote cross-border cooperation and outline Bitcoin-powered infrastructure plans. Pakistan’s minister of state for crypto and blockchain, Bilal Bin Saqib, met with Robert “Bo” Hines, executive director of US President Donald Trump’s Council on Digital Assets, during a visit to the White House. The meeting focused on boosting cooperation between Pakistan and the United States in the digital assets space. Discussions covered a broad range of topics, including Bitcoin (BTC), potential partnerships and the future of decentralized finance, according to a report by 24NewsHD TV. One key area of dialogue was Pakistan’s newly announced Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. “It is my mission to position Pakistan as a global leader in digital assets,” Saqib said after the meeting. Read more
U.S. President Donald Trump will soon announce a new candidate to serve as administrator of NASA, the White House said on Saturday, but did not explain why initial nominee Jared Isaacman was no longer in the running. Semafor, citing two people familiar with the matter, had earlier said the White House would pull Isaacman’s candidacy. […]
Although the White House claimed progress was made, no official details on a deal were announced, casting doubts on the purported agreement. The White House announced that talks between the United States and China regarding a trade deal have made "substantial progress," yet no official deal has been announced at this time, leaving investors in doubt. According to a May 11 announcement from the White House, more details on the trade talks and the proposed "agreement" will be revealed on May 12. “I am happy to report that we made substantial progress between the United States and China in the very important trade talks," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a joint statement with US trade representative Jamieson Greer. Read more
U.S. President Donald Trump had a “very good and productive” call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Thursday, the White House said, adding that Trump hopes both Ukraine and Russia will agree next week to a proposed 30-day ceasefire. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt, speaking to reporters at a White House briefing on Friday, also […]