Key Highlights
- Senate Majority Leader John Thune delayed filing cloture on the CLARITY Act, giving lawmakers more time for negotiations.
- Republican and Democratic staff reportedly held multiple meetings over the past 24 hours to resolve remaining issues.
- Ethics provisions remain one of the key unresolved issues as lawmakers continue negotiations over the bill.
Senate negotiations over the Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act entered a critical phase on Wednesday after Majority Leader John Thune opted not to file cloture. The move delays the bill’s procedural path and gives lawmakers additional time to negotiate unresolved provisions.
In an X post on Wednesday, journalist Brendan Pedersen reported that Republican and Democratic staff had held a series of meetings over the past 24 hours to bridge remaining differences before lawmakers leave Washington for the August recess. The decision to delay cloture gives negotiators additional time to work toward a bipartisan agreement before a procedural vote.
Cloture is the procedural step required to limit Senate debate and move legislation toward a final vote. By delaying its filing, Senate leadership has seemingly extended negotiations rather than beginning the countdown toward floor action.
The latest negotiations follow an earlier push from Senate Majority Leader John Thune to advance the CLARITY Act before the August recess. Earlier this week, Thune sought to move the bill toward a Senate vote while lawmakers continued discussions over unresolved ethics provisions and other areas of disagreement.
Gallego-Tillis proposal targets CLARITY Act ethics debate
The ethics discussions continued in August after Senators Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) introduced a proposal to address concerns surrounding the bill’s ethics provisions. The proposal sought to modify enforcement-related sections of the CLARITY Act as Senate negotiations continued.
The White House had not publicly responded to the proposal at the time of reporting, leaving ethics as one of the issues still under discussion.
Lummis and Hagerty had already called for a vote
The staff-level negotiations follow public calls for action from two Republican senators.
Earlier today, Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) said she expected the Senate to take up the CLARITY Act before recess, noting that lawmakers had spent nearly a year negotiating the bill while disagreements over ethics and enforcement remained unresolved.
Her comments came a day after Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) pushed for a Senate floor vote on the CLARITY Act, arguing the U.S. cannot afford to fall further behind while crypto legislation remains stalled.
Thune’s decision to hold off on cloture suggests Senate leadership is betting that the intensified staff talks can produce a deal before those public calls for a vote force the issue.
CLARITY Act approaches a critical point before recess
With staff negotiations intensifying, ethics provisions still unresolved, and lawmakers publicly calling for floor action, the CLARITY Act has entered a pivotal stage ahead of the August recess.
The bill’s path will depend on whether lawmakers can resolve the remaining disagreements over ethics and other outstanding provisions before the Senate’s scheduled break.
Also Read: Crypto Council CEO Rebuts WSJ’s CLARITY Act Loophole Warnings
