U.S. Associate Attorney General Todd Blanche is under attack by Senate Democrats following the recent decision to narrow down the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) code enforcement priorities and disband the crypto enforcement squad.

In a letter to Blanche on Thursday, six Senate Democrats – Officer Majier Hirono (D-Hawaii), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Sheldon White House (Dr.I), Chris Coons (D-del.), Richard Blumenthell (D-Conn) – National aStepurency eencurry Enculy Enculy Encurse encury (d-conn) – “Free Pass to GIV (ing) Cryptocurrency Money Lander.”

The senator called Blanche’s order that DOJ staff would no longer pursue litigation “due to end-user conduct” against crypto exchanges, mixers or offline wallets, or that no longer result in criminal charges of regulatory violations in cases that contain cryptography, including non-sensical violations.

“By suppressing the DOJ’s liability to enforce federal criminal law when violations are related to digital assets, it suggests that cryptocurrency exchanges, mixers, and other entities trading on digital assets do not need to counter their own money laundering/terrorist financing (terrorist financing) obligations create systemic vulnerability in the digital asset sector.” “Drug traffickers, terrorists, fraudsters and enemies will exploit this vulnerability at scale.”

In a memo to DOJ staff on Monday evening, Blanche cited US President Donald Trump’s executive order on January crypto.

“The Justice Department is not a digital asset regulator,” Blanche wrote, saying that while President Trump’s actual regulators do this work outside the framework of punitive criminal justice, they “will stop pursuing litigation or enforcement measures that have the effect of overlapping regulatory frameworks on digital assets.”

Instead, Blanche urged DOJ staff to focus their enforcement efforts on criminals who use “victimized digital asset investors” and those who use cryptography to promote other criminal schemes such as organized crime, gang funding and terrorism.

Read more: DOJ Axes Crypto Units Like Trump Regulation Pullbacks

But for Senate Democrats, Blanche’s claims don’t completely cut mustard.

“You in your memo argue that DOJs will continue to prosecute people who continue to commit crimes using cryptocurrencies. However, allowing entities that enable these crimes, such as cryptocurrency kiosk operators, to operate outside the federal regulatory framework without the fear of prosecution, will only exploit more Americans.

Lawmakers urged Blanche to reconsider his decision to dismantle the NCET, calling it “an important resource for state and local law enforcement agencies that often lack technical knowledge and skills to investigate cryptocurrency-related crimes.”

New York Attorney General Letitia James raised similar concerns in her own letter to Congress on Thursday, urging lawmakers to pass federal laws to regulate the crypto market. Although her letter itself does not mention Blanche’s memo or NCET’s closure, a press release from her office stressed that her letter “is coming after (DOJ) announced the dismantling of federal criminal cryptocurrency fraud, making it a robust regulatory framework even more important.”

Recent developments suggest a thaw in US enforcement actions against Chinese-manufactured cryptocurrency mining equipment.

After months of detainment at ports, thousands of units are now being released.

Partial Release of Seized Equipment

According to a Reuters report, US authorities have recently begun releasing previously seized Chinese-manufactured cryptocurrency mining equipment. Taras Kulyk, CEO of Synteq Digital, a mining equipment brokerage firm, stated that thousands of units have now been released; however, as many as 10,000 had been delayed at various ports.

Kulyk suggested that internal opposition within US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) may have contributed to the initial seizures and described it as an attempt to create difficulties for the industry. The seizures began late last year, as reported by CryptoPotato, due to concerns over radio frequency emissions and potential violations of trade restrictions. In addition to Bitmain’s Antminer, mining equipment from MicroBT and Canaan were also detained.

Industry reports indicate that some detained equipment contained chips from Sophgo, a Chinese semiconductor company facing trade sanctions due to its alleged role in facilitating transactions between Taiwan’s TSMC and the blacklisted telecom giant Huawei.

Ethan Vera, chief operating officer at Luxor Technology, confirmed that while some shipments have been cleared, the majority remain held. Both Vera and Kulyk dismissed concerns over radio frequency emissions as unfounded. The situation unfolds amid ongoing trade tensions between the US and China, with Washington maintaining strict controls over technology exports and imports involving Chinese firms.

Not All Shipments Are Free

The release of some equipment marks a shift in enforcement actions that have affected cryptocurrency miners reliant on Chinese-made hardware. Sophgo’s blacklisting in late 2023 was part of broader measures targeting firms suspected of aiding Huawei in circumventing US sanctions.

While the release of mining equipment signals some movement in policy, the fate of the remaining detained shipments remains uncertain.