White House Works to Prevent Republican Defections Ahead of CLARITY Act Senate Vote as Bank Opposition Looms

The White House is mounting a last-minute effort to persuade Republican senators ahead of a Senate vote on the CLARITY Act, a digital-asset market structure bill, Semafor reported on September 15.

The Trump administration is arguing that there is no clear link between stablecoin growth and deposit outflows at regional banks as it tries to win over Republican senators who have voiced concerns about the CLARITY Act. Opposition to stablecoins from the banking industry has also begun to affect Republican support, emerging as a key variable ahead of the vote.

The Council of Economic Advisers is also set to release an analytical tool that would allow users to set their own assumptions and test related scenarios. Patrick Witt, executive director of the President's Council of Advisers on Digital Assets, argued that data do not support the banking industry's claim that stablecoin incentives trigger deposit flight from regional banks.

Still, some Republican lawmakers remain cautious. Senator John Cornyn said he was not convinced recent amendments had fully addressed concerns from regional banks.

Democrats have continued to object that the bill's ethics provisions do not do enough to limit crypto-related conflicts of interest involving the president and his family. Senator Mark Warner and others said the current language would be insufficient to address those concerns.

The CLARITY Act would divide digital-asset oversight between the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The bill needs at least 60 votes to advance in the Senate, making Republican defections and additional Democratic support critical variables.