TL;DR:
- Rep. Keith Self uses the NDAA to push an Anti CBDC Surveillance State amendment that brands digital money as a threat to financial freedom.
- The proposal would block the Fed from creating CBDC assets, close rebranding loopholes and stop Fed banks from running retail accounts for individuals.
- Republicans argue CBDCs enable tracking and control of spending, and say only a permanent ban, not an executive order, can stop the system.
Opposition to a U.S. central bank digital currency has shifted from concern to resistance on Capitol Hill, as Representative Keith Self forces the issue into the defense debate by trying to weld a CBDC ban onto the National Defense Authorization Act, framing centrally issued digital money as a direct threat to financial freedom that must be blocked in the same legislation that safeguards national security. For Self, leaving CBDCs unchecked is not an option.
🚨BREAKING: I have submitted an amendment to add a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) ban to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
Promises were broken to include this language in the NDAA. My amendment would fix the bill.
The House Rules Committee meets later TODAY… pic.twitter.com/9zLQUk6QSm
— Rep. Keith Self (@RepKeithSelf) December 9, 2025
Anti CBDC Surveillance State push casts digital dollar as a systemic threat
Self has introduced an “Anti CBDC Surveillance State” amendment that would stop the Federal Reserve from creating, testing, or supporting any asset that functions like a CBDC, closing loopholes that might allow a rebranded government coin while also forbidding Federal Reserve banks from offering accounts or financial services directly to individuals. He says House leaders had promised CBDC language in the NDAA and broke that commitment, which is why he is now “fixing” the bill himself.
In his telling, those broken promises are not a minor procedural slight but a warning sign about how easily a CBDC regime could creep in without a public fight, which is why Self insists Congress must debate whether to permit a Federal Reserve digital dollar instead of letting technocrats usher it in through pilot programs. Filing the amendment as the House Rules Committee prepares its decision is meant to force the question into the open.
Republican critics of CBDCs are increasingly blunt about what they see at stake. They argue a government backed digital currency would hand authorities the tools to watch every transaction, track spending, restrict purchases, or even control how Americans are allowed to use their own money despite vocal support for privately driven crypto and blockchain innovation. In that view, the NDAA is where lawmakers should hard code protections against turning the dollar into an instrument of surveillance.
The push also builds on moves outside Congress. Earlier this year, President Donald Trump signed an executive order telling federal agencies not to promote or create CBDCs, citing risks to privacy, financial stability, and national control, but lawmakers now warn that an order can be reversed and insist that only a permanent ban can stop future administrations from reviving a digital currency. Whether Self’s amendment survives the Rules Committee will signal how serious Congress really is about stopping CBDCs.
