Tuesday's committee vote on Todd Blanche's AG nomination could lock in lighter crypto enforcement, while Senate ethics fight delays CLARITY Act before August break.
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The Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled a vote Tuesday to advance Todd Blanche's nomination as attorney general. Blanche, Trump's former defense attorney and current acting AG, is the architect of a Justice Department memo that effectively ended criminal enforcement of crypto regulatory violations.
The vote was originally set to move last week. Committee Chair Chuck Grassley pulled it, saying his side didn't have the votes. Two Republicans -- John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina -- refused to support Blanche without written DOJ commitments on a proposed $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization" fund tied to an IRS settlement.
Tuesday's vote is the first real test. Blanche can afford zero GOP defections on the committee. The White House has been negotiating with Cornyn's office.
What's at stake for crypto
As deputy AG in April 2025, Blanche issued the "Ending Regulation by Prosecution" memo. He disbanded the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team and told prosecutors to stop treating regulatory violations as a criminal priority. The department would focus on actual fraud and cartel activity, he wrote.
Democratic senators flagged a conflict after disclosures showed Blanche held over $150,000 in Bitcoin and Ethereum around the time the memo was issued. He later transferred those assets. A confirmed Blanche would lock that enforcement posture into the department's leadership.
The nomination fight is tangled with the CLARITY Act, the crypto ethics package that designates DOJ as the sole enforcer of restrictions on crypto-involved officials. Galaxy Research has cut 2026 passage odds to 30%, saying the odds fall further as the ethics standoff drags on. The Senate hold on CLARITY Act is partly fueled by the same Republican disputes slowing Blanche.
Standard Chartered's conditional $8 XRP target and JPMorgan's estimate of $4.3 billion to $8.4 billion in first-year XRP ETF inflows both depend on CLARITY Act passage. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has urged the Senate to vote now.
Time is short. The Senate's state work period starts August 10, which most analysts treat as the practical cutoff for 2026 passage.
For more on the legislative dynamics: CLARITY Act odds sink to 27% after Senate delays crypto bill and CLARITY Act delay risks US crypto lead, Haridopolos warns.
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