South Carolina Representative William Timmons said in an interview at a summit in Washington that the bill is one of the president's top priorities and a bipartisan issue in Congress. Timmons stated that there might be some stumbling blocks, but they would get the job done.
Timing is critical: The House of Representatives and the Senate have just returned to Washington after the July 4th holiday. The House will go on recess again on July 24, while the Senate will continue its activities until August 7. The House passed its version of the CLARITY Act a year ago, but the bill has since stalled in the Senate. Senate Majority Leader John Thune wants to bring the legislation to the floor before the August recess, and an updated text is expected to be released this week. Even if the Senate passes its version, the bill will need to return to the House, a step that may not happen before the recess. Timmons said the process could extend into the coming months, but lawmakers aim to complete it before the November elections.
The Senate has largely moved past the dispute between banks and the crypto sector regarding stablecoin rewards and the debate over protecting software developers. One major unresolved issue remains: how to address Trump's crypto conflicts of interest is still being discussed. Negotiators from both parties have worked for months on ethics provisions that would limit how presidents, vice presidents, members of Congress, and federal officials can profit from digital assets while in office.
On Thursday afternoon, Trump will meet with Republican Senators Bernie Moreno and Cynthia Lummis, along with White House crypto advisor Patrick Witt and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, to resolve this issue and secure the president's approval. Nevada Representative Steven Horsford, however, expressed hope that attention would be given to digital asset users rather than the administration and the Trump family. Horsford stated that he thinks about the issue in terms of his constituents, users, and the small businesses that will benefit, emphasizing that the policy is primarily for these end-users.
According to reports emerging before the meeting, the current bill text does not have the support of Democrats. Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego said that the text was presented to the president with Republicans' own ethics provisions rather than content agreed upon by Democrats. Gallego stated that without strong ethics regulation, Democratic votes cannot be secured.
Summer Mersinger, CEO of the Blockchain Association, described the ethics debate as a key point. Mersinger reported that many Democratic offices they spoke with were firm on the ethics language and were not keen on moving forward without an ethics agreement. Nevertheless, it was stated that the executive remained optimistic, saying that the right conversations were being had and that she had not yet encountered anyone who did not want to finish the bill. Meanwhile, gambling establishments are pushing for rules regarding prediction markets, particularly concerning sports betting, to be added to the bill. Mersinger called such an amendment a "poison pill," while Horsford stated that the issue should be a separate bill and that he did not want it mixed with CLARITY.