US Senate Has Two Weeks to Pass CLARITY Act as Ethics Dispute Persists

The US Senate has about two weeks to pass the CLARITY Act, legislation that would set the market structure for digital assets, as Democrats and Republicans remain at odds over a key ethics provision.

CoinDesk reported on July 26 that lawmakers released a new amendment to the CLARITY Act combining two drafts developed separately by the Senate Banking Committee and the Senate Agriculture Committee. The revised measure includes, for the first time, an ethics provision aimed at President Donald Trump that would bar senior public officials from issuing or sponsoring their own digital assets.

The ethics provision has won White House approval, but Democratic senators have not accepted it. Under the measure, Trump would have to sell the related business within one year or place it in a blind trust, with the Justice Department responsible for enforcement. Democrats argue it is hard to trust the department to act independently while a sitting president remains in office. They also object that the provision would lapse as soon as the next president takes office, making any later retroactive application impossible. Democrats also have reason to keep the issue alive ahead of this year's midterm elections, given Trump's $1.4 billion in crypto income last year.

Backers of the bill are emphasizing the significance of the ethics language. Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis said the provision would apply not only to Trump but also to a broad range of public officials and federal judges. Patrick Witt, the White House's crypto adviser, called it the broadest ethics provision ever approved by a US president.

The procedural window is also tight. Senate aides from both parties and crypto industry officials contacted by CoinDesk expect a motion to begin debate to be filed on Monday or Tuesday. For a vote to take place before the Senate's summer recess on Aug. 7, the motion would have to be submitted no later than Wednesday. Kristin Smith, president of the Solana Policy Institute, said the recess deadline is a powerful negotiating tool.

Elizabeth Warren, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, said in a statement that the revised bill should be "thrown in the trash immediately." She cited investor protection, national security provisions and Trump's crypto conflicts of interest as reasons for her opposition. The crypto industry is urging lawmakers to pass the measure, arguing that if it fails, investor safeguards would disappear.