Senate votes 49-50, crypto Clarity Act fails to advance
The Senate voted 49-50 Tuesday on a motion to proceed with the Clarity Act, falling short of the 60 votes needed to advance the cryptocurrency regulation bill. The defeat marked a setback for the crypto industry, which has pushed for legislation establishing a regulatory framework for digital assets.
All Democrats voted against the motion, joined by four Republicans: Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Jerry Moran of Kansas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina.
The vote came after a flurry of last-minute efforts to strike a deal between Republicans and crypto-friendly Democrats. About a dozen Democrats were considered potential yes votes but declined to support the legislation after the two sides failed to reach an agreement on ethics rules.
Sen. Cynthia Lummis, a Republican from Wyoming, criticized her Democratic colleagues after the vote.
“I sat at the table with Senate Democrats working in good faith to get this done while they played games,” Lummis said in a statement. “For over a year, they presented demands and the second we met them, they made new demands and moved the goal posts.”
Lummis said the vote “proved they were never truly serious about protecting consumers and preserving American leadership.”
Senate Republicans had put forward what an aide described as their “last, best and final offer” on Sunday, unveiling updated bill text with changes to the ethics language and several other sections at the heart of negotiations.
The new White House-approved ethics provision built on earlier language that barred public officials, including the president, from issuing or sponsoring crypto assets. The initial version gave enforcement power only to the Department of Justice. After pushback from Democrats, the latest version also allowed state attorneys general to bring cases against the agency or crypto exchanges over violations.
The changes still fell short for Democrats. Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia suggested Monday that there were “a whole lot of loopholes” in the new ethics language.
“I will tell you this: Democrats should not advance a bill that does not address the Trump family’s approach to this, where they’re clearly focused on enriching themselves,” Warnock told reporters.
Sen. Ruben Gallego of Arizona, a central player in the negotiations, accused GOP leadership of ending talks and forcing a vote “just as Democrats and Republicans were making progress to address ethics concerns.”
“This legislation failed squarely because Republicans refuse to say no to the president,” Gallego said in a statement. “It takes 60 votes to pass a bill, and instead of spending their time twisting themselves into knots to appease President Trump, Republicans should have worked more closely with Senate Democrats to craft a bill that could pass with strong ethics provisions.”
