If you've ever sat awake at night asking, “Why can't Congress pass a bill that makes even a sliver of sense?” -- the answer, as always, is money. As in: who’s getting it, who’s handing it out, and who’s selling their vote like it's Black Friday on K Street.

Next week, the Senate gets a rare opportunity to do something smart -- and shockingly, bipartisan -- by advancing the GENIUS Act, a bill that sets up actual rules for stablecoins (you know, those digital dollars that don’t nosedive overnight). This legislation is backed by both sides of the aisle and actually helps accomplish one of President Trump’s big goals: putting America back on top in financial tech without sacrificing the greenback or the consumer.

At the March White House crypto summit, Trump was crystal clear: get stablecoin legislation done before Congress packs its bags for summer vacation. But instead of letting the GENIUS Act breathe, Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) has decided it’s the perfect host body to infect with an entirely unrelated Frankenstein’s monster: the Credit Card Competition Act (CCCA) -- a dusty old favor to corporate retail, dressed up as "reform."

What’s the CCCA? In short, it’s a mandate -- co-created with everyone's favorite swamp creature, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) -- that would force banks to offer two payment networks per credit card. Because apparently, government micromanagement is now conservative orthodoxy?

Here's how it works now: people pick the cards they want. Visa, AmEx, Discover. No business is being waterboarded into accepting every card under the sun. No one’s kicking down doors saying “Swipe or else.”

This isn’t about freedom or consumer empowerment. It’s about mega-retailers like Walmart and Target throwing tantrums over having to pay a few extra cents per transaction. And their solution? Strip the system down to the cheapest, lowest-security option, even if it leaves consumers more exposed than a VPN-less laptop at a hacker convention.

If Marshall gets his way, these corporate behemoths score a win -- and the rest of us? We get weaker fraud protections, gutted credit card rewards, and a system so flimsy you could poke holes in it with a wet noodle. But hey, at least Walmart saves a buck, right?

Last time we checked, the GOP was the party of free markets, not "let’s babysit your business model so you can pay fewer fees."

Marshall’s little legislative landmine doesn’t just harm consumers -- it also threatens to blow up support for the GENIUS Act, a rare piece of forward-thinking tech policy that actually aligns with Trump’s vision.

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) has already signaled he’ll walk if Marshall’s backroom detour makes it in. Others are reportedly just as done. Imagine lighting a bipartisan bill on fire just to hand a bouquet to Walmart’s lobbying department.

And this isn’t Marshall’s first rodeo with this stunt. Last year, he tried sneaking the same amendment into the must-pass National Defense Authorization Act -- because what screams “national security” more than credit card swipe fees? He failed then, and now he’s back, this time using an actual Trump-priority innovation bill as his crash test dummy.

So why the persistence? Here’s a hint: follow the donations.

According to Politico, Marshall -- the knight in plastic armor for “competition” -- has banked close to $130,000 from the retail and grocery industry in just the two-and-a-half years he’s been in the Senate. Quite the ROI if his amendment goes through.

Durbin’s not exactly living off moral high ground either. He’s hauled in over $80,000 from the same retail-heavy crowd source, while co-sponsor Sen. Peter Welch (D-VT) has raked in $73,000. Who knew being anti-consumer paid so well?

If Marshall is so desperate to cosplay as a retail lobbyist, he should try introducing this bill the normal way -- with hearings, markups, and a standalone vote -- not piggybacking it on critical legislation like a parasite with a press release.

President Trump has laid it out clearly: the path forward means dominating financial technology, not turning America’s payments system into a dollar-store version of itself. The GENIUS Act is a legitimate step toward that. Marshall’s amendment is a rerun of a failed idea with all the charm of a Payless bankruptcy sale.

Congress has a choice: stand with innovation and the American consumer, or bend the knee to the checkout lane cartel. The Senate should pass the GENIUS Act clean and leave the CCCA -- and all the dirty money that’s keeping it alive -- where it belongs: flushed down the legislative drain.

Julio Rivera is a business and political strategist, cybersecurity researcher, founder of ItFunk.Org, and a political commentator and columnist. His writing, which is focused on cybersecurity and politics, is regularly published by many of the largest news organizations in the world.

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