Ripple tension in Washington: Meeting canceled

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse announced that he has canceled the appointment given to him by U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis, who is close to Trump.

Garlinghouse stated, "I am going to Washington to advocate for reasonable, crypto-friendly regulations. It really encourages me that our elected representatives are looking at crypto as a sector where the diversity of blockchains is ensured. However, Senator Lummis, who serves as the Chair of the Digital Assets Subcommittee, canceled the meeting he was supposed to have with me. He also did not agree to reschedule."

Ripple CEO called on Lummis to reconsider his decision and added that he is always open to discussions. Garlinghouse's post garnered significant attention with over 1.5 million views.

Heading to DC to champion sensible pro-crypto legislation around stablecoins and market structure, and I’m very encouraged to see our elected officials look at crypto as it should be – a multichain industry.

That said, @SenLummis, as Chair of the Digital Assets Subcommittee,…

— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) May 19, 2025

The reason why Lummis canceled the meeting remains uncertain. There has not yet been a statement from the senator on this matter.

On the other hand, a user following Garlinghouse wrote that Lummis's son-in-law Will Cole shared a harsh criticism of Ripple on his X profile. The user, stating that Cole works as an executive at a Bitcoin payment company, expressed, "This could be the reason Lummis doesn’t want to meet with you."

Garlinghouse responded, "Thank you for this information. The fact that Senator Lummis is related to Will Cole is certainly enlightening. It is certainly possible for a senator's program to change during the day, but it is really concerning that the staff said 'rescheduling is not possible' (. We, as a US-based company, want to grow the crypto economy for the benefit of all Americans. I can't help but wonder if this decision was really made by Senator Lummis herself, or by someone from her team."

Is it a reflection of Trump's decision?

U.S. media outlet Politico had reported that Trump believed his XRP posts from March were used in recent weeks. According to the claim, Trump made the post about XRP being included in reserves under the guidance of a lobbyist connected to Ripple Labs. It was suggested that this person was Brian Ballard and that Trump became very angry upon learning that Ripple was a client of Ballard. It is thought that this development may have negatively impacted the close ties between Ripple and Trump.

Published: May 20, 2025 15:21