Key Highlights
- Senators will update President Trump on the entire CLARITY Act and its “path to success.”
- Lawmakers are still divided over whether unresolved ethics language should delay the revised draft.
- Senate leaders are pushing for a floor vote before the current work period ends on August 7.
US President Donald Trump is set to receive a direct update from senators on the CLARITY Act Thursday afternoon as lawmakers race to find a path for the crypto market structure bill before the Senate leaves for its August recess.
Sen. Bernie Moreno, who has been involved in negotiations, said a group of senators will brief Trump on the bill and its “path to success.”
“We’ll be talking about the entirety of the bill,” Moreno said, adding that Trump has been “very engaged” in the legislation.
The meeting comes after months of back-and-forth negotiations over the CLARITY Act. Ethics restrictions tied to Trump’s own crypto interests remain one of the bill’s largest unresolved issues, but Thursday’s discussion is expected to go beyond that dispute.
For lawmakers, the immediate question is whether negotiations are close enough to move toward a revised draft and Senate floor vote before August 7.
What Could Come Out of Trump’s CLARITY Act Briefing?
The first major signal will be whether senators leave the White House with a clearer political path for the entire bill.
Sen. Thom Tillis said he hopes lawmakers can reach an agreement by the end of this week, warning that progress is critical if the Senate wants to move the legislation before the August recess.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune also said Wednesday that he hopes to bring the bill to the floor during the current work period, which ends August 7.
Asked whether the Senate could vote even without a deal with Democrats, Thune said: “At some point, we’ll vote on it, yeah.”
That puts Thursday’s Trump meeting at an important point in the legislative calendar.
The Senate still needs Democratic support to advance the legislation. Ethics restrictions covering senior government officials and their crypto business interests have become a central demand from Democrats.
Democrats have pushed proposals covering the president, vice president, members of Congress, senior officials and, in some versions, their families. Sen. Chris Van Hollen previously proposed restrictions on officials and families owning, promoting or affiliating with digital asset issuers or platforms, alongside disclosure requirements.
Earlier bipartisan discussions considered narrower options, including delaying the implementation of restrictions and applying limits to government officials without extending them to family members. Negotiators have also discussed allowing state attorneys general to pursue ethics violations.
Trump’s response to the progress made on those negotiations could become one of the most closely watched developments after the meeting. Thursday’s talks could show whether the final compromise moves closer to either model.
A broad agreement covering family crypto interests would answer one of Democrats’ central demands. A narrower rule or delayed implementation could keep White House support intact but may still struggle to win enough Democratic votes.
The vote math makes that distinction important. The Senate Banking Committee advanced its version of the bill 15-9 in May, with Democratic Sens. Ruben Gallego and Angela Alsobrooks joining Republicans. Both later warned that their committee votes did not guarantee support on the Senate floor without an ethics agreement and other changes.
Assuming all Republicans support the legislation, at least seven Democrats or independents would be needed to overcome a Senate filibuster.
That leaves little room for a compromise that wins White House backing but fails to bring negotiating Democrats with it.
Could the Revised CLARITY Act Draft Finally Drop?
The second development to watch is the revised Senate draft.
An almost-final merged Senate text combining work from the Banking and Agriculture committees has been under preparation, but it remains unclear when lawmakers will release it.
Sen. Cynthia Lummis, a key architect of the legislation, said senators are still debating whether to circulate the draft before reaching a final ethics agreement.
“There’s been some differences of opinion among senators about whether we should distribute a draft with or without the ethics language,” Lummis said.
One option is to release the legislation with the ethics section left in brackets and add the final language later. The other is to delay circulation for several days until senators approve the provision.
“If a decision is made to do it before there’s a final stamp of approval on ethics, it will come out with brackets saying ethics to be added,” Lummis said.
The dispute means the timing of the draft itself could offer an early signal after the Trump meeting.
A draft released with bracketed ethics language would show lawmakers are prepared to move the broader legislation while negotiations continue. A further delay would suggest senators still see the ethics agreement as necessary before putting the near-final bill before members.
Other issues also remain, Federal preemption and questions surrounding SEC and CFTC commission appointments have yet to be fully resolved.
The August 7 Deadline Is Getting Closer
Even an agreement after the White House meeting would not send the CLARITY Act straight to Trump’s desk.
The Senate would still need to advance and pass the legislation. Because the Senate text differs from the House-passed version, Congress would also have to reconcile the measures before a final bill reaches the president.
Lawmakers are now working against the summer recess, with the current Senate work period ending August 7.
After the recess, lawmakers involved in the negotiations fear midterm election politics could make major bipartisan legislation increasingly difficult to pass.
Thursday’s discussion with Trump could therefore provide more than another update on months of negotiations.
Watch for three developments after the meeting: whether senators signal an agreement could come by the end of the week, whether the revised draft is released with bracketed ethics language, and whether Democratic negotiators move closer to supporting a floor vote.
Without progress on those points, the CLARITY Act will return to the same problem lawmakers have faced for months: a shrinking Senate calendar and no clear path to 60 votes.
Also Read: CLARITY Act: 5 Fights Still Unresolved Before the Merged Draft Drops
