CLARITY Act faces defeat as Senate ethics fight deepens

The CLARITY Act has moved closer to defeat ahead of its Sept. 15 Senate vote as lawmakers remain divided over presidential ethics rules and stablecoin rewards.

CLARITY Act ethics talks remain stalled

Semafor reported on Sept. 8 that Republican senators expect the crypto market structure bill to fail when the chamber returns, citing little progress on an ethics provision sought by Democrats.

The proposed restriction would address whether a sitting president and immediate family members could profit from crypto businesses while federal policy affecting the industry is being written. According to two Democratic aides cited by Semafor, negotiators have made little movement on the demand.

Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., offered a brief assessment of the talks, saying the situation “does not look good right now.”

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who has participated in bipartisan negotiations over the legislation, tied its survival directly to the White House’s willingness to compromise.

“If there’s no interest in the White House in trying to bridge the gap on the ethics language, it is going to fail,” Tillis said.

At the White House, an administration spokesperson told Semafor that Trump remained “unequivocal” in calling on Congress to pass the bill so the United States could compete with other countries in digital-asset development.

The spokesperson also said the administration had worked with Congress and accepted what it considered “the most comprehensive and wide-ranging ethics provision in history.” Democrats have disputed that description, arguing that the language does not sufficiently cover businesses controlled by a president’s relatives.

Questions about Trump’s crypto ties have followed the legislation through Congress. In August, crypto.news covered renewed ethics demands after Public Citizen called for the bill to require a sitting president and immediate family members to divest from crypto ventures.

Trump and members of his family have been linked to several digital-asset projects, including World Liberty Financial and the Official Trump meme coin. Public Citizen argued that federal crypto policy could not be separated from the president’s private financial interests, adding another source of pressure on senators seeking Democratic votes.

Sept. 15 vote requires bipartisan support

Senate Majority Leader John Thune filed cloture on the motion to proceed before lawmakers left Washington for their August recess. Under the scheduled Senate test, the motion will ripen at 2:15 p.m. ET on Sept. 15, one day after the chamber returns for regular business.

The vote will not decide final passage. Instead, senators will determine whether to open debate on the CLARITY Act, with supporters needing 60 votes to advance the measure.

Republicans hold 53 Senate seats, meaning they would need support from at least seven Democrats or independents even if every Republican backed the motion. Opposition within the Republican conference could raise the number of cross-party votes required.

Senators Josh Hawley of Missouri and Rand Paul of Kentucky have been identified as possible Republican opponents. Hawley has raised concerns about provisions governing stablecoin rewards, while community banks have warned that interest-like payments on stablecoins could draw deposits away from insured lenders.

Some Republican senators have sought additional protections for banks before agreeing to support the bill. Democrats, meanwhile, have pressed for state attorneys general to retain enforcement powers because they question whether federal agencies alone would enforce the framework effectively.

Earlier crypto.news coverage identified three unresolved provisions, presidential ethics restrictions, protections for decentralized finance developers, and the treatment of stablecoin rewards, as possible barriers to reaching 60 votes.

A successful cloture vote would allow senators to debate the legislation and offer amendments. Final passage would generally require a simple majority, but any Senate version that differs from the House-approved text would need further action before it could reach the president.

The House passed its version of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act in July 2025 by a 294-134 vote, including support from 78 Democrats. Senate negotiations have since produced separate proposals addressing the roles of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

For U.S. investors and crypto businesses, the legislation would determine how federal agencies divide oversight of digital assets and trading platforms. The framework would also establish processes for deciding when a crypto asset falls under securities rules and when it qualifies as a digital commodity subject to CFTC authority.

Crypto groups increase pressure before the vote

As support remains uncertain, the Fairshake-linked Cedar Innovation Foundation has announced three national advertisements backing the CLARITY Act ahead of the Senate vote.

The campaign seeks to build public and political support during the final week before senators return. Fairshake and other crypto-aligned political groups have spent heavily in congressional races, giving the industry another way to pressure lawmakers if the bill fails.

Semafor reported that defeat could prompt crypto groups to direct additional funds toward competitive House and Senate races. Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., questioned whether the measure carried much weight among voters in his state.

“There’s nothing I can do with the crypto bill,” Marshall said. “Haven’t heard a peep about it. Nobody back home is asking about it.”

Prediction-market traders have also reduced their expectations for passage. Polymarket odds on the CLARITY Act becoming law in 2026 have fallen from earlier highs as the Sept. 15 vote approaches and the available congressional calendar narrows.

A prediction-market price represents traders’ positions rather than an official forecast, and it can change as negotiations continue or senators announce their votes. Recent readings have nevertheless placed passage well below an even chance.

House calendar leaves little time for final passage

Even if the Senate clears cloture, lawmakers will have limited time to debate amendments, pass the bill, and resolve any differences with the House version.

The Senate will have about 15 session days before election campaigning takes priority ahead of the November midterms. Leadership would need to manage debate while Congress also faces other deadlines competing for floor time.

House leaders have canceled sessions during the final two weeks of September and plan to begin the chamber’s midterm recess by Sept. 17. The schedule leaves little room for representatives to consider Senate changes during the same month.

If senators amend the legislation, the House would need to approve the revised text or the two chambers would have to reconcile their separate versions. The Constitution requires both chambers to pass identical language before a bill can be sent to the president.

Meanwhile, the SEC has continued work on crypto rules without waiting for Congress. In an Aug. 18 statement, SEC Chair Paul Atkins said legislation remained necessary to establish durable rules and prevent a future regulator from easily reversing the agency’s current approach.

The CFTC has also been examining how it can use its existing authority while lawmakers debate an expanded federal framework. Its current powers do not provide the complete spot-market oversight contemplated by the CLARITY Act, which would give the agency a larger role in supervising digital commodities and related intermediaries.