Barrasso pushes the Clarity Act before recess, but White House review stalls and Senate odds have sunk to 27% after delays.
Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso urged lawmakers Thursday to pass the Clarity Act before a five-week recess, framing the bill as the natural follow-up to last year's Genius Act. The U.S. passed its first major digital asset law in 2025, and the same bipartisan work was needed now, he said on the Senate floor.
"It's time for the Senate to build on [the Genius Act] by passing the Clarity Act," Barrasso said.
The push comes as the bill's path to a vote looks less certain than Republican leadership hoped. Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters earlier this week that a vote before the break was the goal. Senator Thom Tillis said Wednesday the White House was reviewing the latest amendments. By Thursday, he had not yet heard back, according to Punchbowl News reporter Brendan Pedersen.
Lawmakers have other legislation queued ahead of recess, and the Clarity Act appears to have slipped down the calendar. The House passed the bill last year. The Senate has not scheduled a vote.
The bill has grown substantially since its House passage, said Senator Cynthia Lummis, as Democrats pushed for additions. A revised text circulated in July banning government officials and their families from issuing or promoting crypto. That concession did not satisfy a group of Democrats, who wrote a letter the same month saying the bill still fell short.
The banking lobby has also weighed in, raising concerns over stablecoin yield paid by crypto companies to their customers, a practice that put banks in conflict with firms like Coinbase. Those objections have kept the bill in deadlock for much of the year.
Senator Tim Scott, chair of the Senate Banking Committee, said on Fox Business that the Clarity Act should be "the first vote before we leave without any question." Lummis said Wednesday a vote would happen, even if it meant staying an extra day or two past the scheduled recess.
A delay carries real stakes for the U.S. position in crypto regulation. The CLARITY Act delay risks US crypto lead, Haridopolos warns, and odds of passage have already sunk to 27% after Senate delays. The Senate is expected to leave for recess this week.
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