Senate Leaves for Recess Without Clarity Vote, Pushing Crypto Rules to September

The U.S. Senate will not vote on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act before leaving Washington for the August recess, Senate Majority Leader John Thune confirmed through a spokesperson late Thursday.

“The Dems are insistent on no Clarity vote,” the spokesperson said on X. “I worked with sponsors of the bill. [Sen. Cynthia Lummis] was great, and we’re getting that queued up first thing when we come back.”

The Senate is scheduled to reconvene Sept. 14 with roughly three weeks of floor time before leaving to prepare for the midterms. Before departing, senators will take up a continuing resolution funding the federal government through the midterm election, a Russia sanctions bill named for the late Senator Lindsey Graham, and a group of nominations. Votes are set for Friday at 10 a.m. Thune had time agreements limiting debate on each of those. Clarity had none.

The delay kills any chance of crypto market structure legislation crossing the finish line before November. The bill needs 60 votes to advance. As of Thursday, multiple Republicans have publicly signaled opposition without changes. Senate Democrats continue to press for a stricter ethics provision than the current text contains.