Senate Democrats rejected the ethics provision in the recent draft clarity bill in blunt terms, and Majority Leader John Thune on Thursday cast doubt on the possibility of passing a cryptocurrency market structure bill before the August recess.
“Whatever piece they brought back to us, it was not a serious effort,” said Sen. Ruben Gallego of Arizona. He said Politico, and criticized Republicans for turning months of talks into language that he described as far from reaching an agreement. Gallego said he is working on a counteroffer with Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina “and other Republicans whose names are not being mentioned at this time.” “We are still in this battle,” he added. “We will bring back the language.”
The dispute centers on implementation. Democrats say they will not accept an ethics provision with the Justice Department as its sole enforcer, a position rooted in a distrust of the Trump-era Justice Department with regard to surveillance of the president.
Previous talks about what role state prosecutors would play in enforcing the rules collapsed.
The GOP language came from an agreement between the White House and Republican Senators Cynthia Lummis and Bernie Moreno. Loomis defended this, saying in a statement that “President Trump supports the strongest ethics rules ever imposed on the office of the presidency.”
the New draft It will prevent federal officials from issuing digital assets and will expire in 2029, and The White House has pressed Democrats to accept it. Tillis described the language approved by the White House as “good,” but acknowledged that “the baseline… is not up to what some Democrats want,” and said there were further conversations with the White House ahead.
The ethical battle dates back to President Trump’s cryptocurrency projects, the disclosure of which he linked in July to more than $1 billion in income over the past year. A group of seven Democrats led by Angela Alsobrooks said this week that the text “falls short” on consumer protections, illicit financing and conflicts of interest.
The Clarity Act has 14 days before the August deadline
Thon tempered expectations on the calendar. Industry and Congressional negotiators have set Aug. 7 as the date the bill needs to clear the Senate for passage this year.
“I don’t think we’ll be able to pull it off,” Thawne said He said He told reporters, referring to clarity and a separate draft law for university sports. “I would like to at least start the ‘clarity’ process. We’ll see where the votes are.”
Starting before the recess would leave the bill with a tight window in September, with midterm campaigns and other priorities set to crowd the public. Thune’s staff pointed to the Russia sanctions bill championed by the late Sen. Lindsey Graham as the next item in the session. White House cryptocurrency adviser Patrick Witt responded to Thon’s reading, and… He said CoinDesk was “puzzled” and “a little more optimistic,” with the first week of August still open.
The bill passed through months of bipartisan talks, and the House passed its version in July 2025. Beyond ethics, some Republicans have pointed to the treatment of stablecoin returns, and Goldman Sachs, one of the bill’s supporters, sits across from JPMorgan in Wall Street was divided on the measure. Galaxy Research has Reducing the odds of it passing to 50-50.
