President backs U.S. leadership in crypto and AI, says inspector general will look into high federal building costs

When asked by a reporter from a crypto-focused publication about prediction markets, the president said he was "not the casino" but added he did not want the United States to fall behind other countries in technologies such as crypto and artificial intelligence. "Crypto's a big industry," he said, and described efforts to "lead with AI."

The reporter asked whether the administration would reconsider pushing to legalize prediction markets. The president replied that other countries' actions influence U.S. participation and reiterated a general aim to keep U.S. industries competitive. "We want to beat China at the industry," he said, adding that banks and many people already use crypto.

Separately, when asked about an investigation related to a Federal Reserve official, the president said the probe had "not been dropped" and referenced an inspector general review. He said he wanted to determine how a building that "I could have done for $25,000,000" came to cost about $4,000,000,000, and cited his experience building the Waldorf Astoria for $201,000,000 as a point of comparison.

The president also expressed support for Jeanine Pirro, saying "I think, Jeanine is fantastic," and said he would pursue whatever review was necessary to "get to the bottom of" the cost discrepancies. He did not announce any formal action or naming of officials to carry out the review during the session.