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FIGR_HELOC $1.00White House and Lummis blame Democrats for CLARITY Act failure
The Senate blocked the CLARITY Act on a 49-50 vote, and the White House and Senator Cynthia Lummis blame Democrats.
Key takeaways
- The vote fell short. The Senate voted 49-50 on September 15, below the 60 votes the motion needed.
- Democratic changes were added. Senator Lummis said the final version included 126 changes requested by Democrats.
- Another vote is unlikely. With November midterms approaching, another CLARITY Act vote this year is widely seen as unlikely.
What happened
The White House blamed Senate Democrats for blocking the CLARITY Act after the crypto market bill failed to pass. A White House official said Democrats put political games over doing what is best for American technology and innovation.
The Senate failed to invoke cloture, voting 49-50, well short of the 60 votes needed to begin debate. Every Democrat present voted no, and a few Republicans also opposed or switched their votes.
Senator Cynthia Lummis said all Democratic-requested changes were added to the bill, but all Democrats voted no. She said Democrats were never truly serious.
Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott also blamed Democrats for the failed motion.
Why it matters
The bill would have created the first comprehensive market structure framework for crypto and clarified oversight between the SEC and the CFTC. The U.S. still has no single federal framework for the spot digital asset market.
Without the bill, the CFTC does not receive the proposed authority to create a federal registration system for digital commodity exchanges, brokers and dealers. Firms keep facing state-by-state money transmitter rules.
White House crypto adviser Patrick Witt called the result a major disappointment and warned that global financial standards could be shaped by Brussels or Beijing rather than Washington and New York.
Democrats gave a different reason. Senator Cory Booker said he would not support legislation that did not adequately address concerns over President Donald Trump's crypto interests. Senator Adam Schiff said stronger, enforceable ethics rules were needed.
What the data shows
The Senate voted 49-50 on September 15 on the motion to advance the Clarity Act. The motion needed at least 60 votes to pass, and it failed.
Republicans said the final text included more than 120 Democratic-requested changes, including ethics language modeled on a Tillis-Gallego bipartisan proposal. Senator Lummis said the final version included 126 changes requested by Democrats.
Background
The bill would have set rules for crypto exchanges, brokers and software developers.
The ethics provisions would have stopped federal officials from issuing or sponsoring digital assets and required them to sell their holdings or place them in a trust.
Traditional banks lobbied against provisions such as Section 404, which would have limited stablecoin providers from offering deposit-like yields to U.S. customers.
What is still unclear
- The reports list different Republicans who voted against cloture. One names Susan Collins, Josh Hawley, Jerry Moran and Thom Tillis. Another names Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Mitch McConnell and Thom Tillis.
Questions readers ask
Why did the CLARITY Act fail in the Senate?
The Senate failed to invoke cloture on a 49-50 vote, below the 60 votes needed. Every Democrat present voted no, and some Republicans also opposed the motion.
What would the CLARITY Act have done?
It would have created a market structure framework for crypto, with clearer SEC and CFTC oversight and rules for exchanges, brokers and software developers.
What happens without the CLARITY Act?
The U.S. still does not have a single federal framework for the spot digital asset market, and the CFTC does not get the bill's proposed registration authority.
