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The White House agreed on an ethics package for the Crypto Clarity Act and sent the language to certain Senate Republicans Monday afternoon, raising hopes that updated bill text releases soon.
What Did The White House Actually Agree To?
As of Monday morning, sources familiar with the negotiations told the Crypto In America newsletter that the White House had still not signaled where it stood, leaving Republicans unable to release updated bill text.
Fox Business reporter Eleanor Terrett reported the development, citing multiple industry sources, though the specific details of the agreement remain unclear.
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The White House reached the agreement after President Donald Trump met Thursday in the Oval Office with Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), and Senator Bernie Moreno (R-OH). The group did not invite Democrats to the meeting.
Why Ethics Has Blocked The Bill For Weeks
Democrats demanded stronger guardrails on Trump’s crypto business ties as a non-negotiable condition for their votes, and the bill needs 60 Senate votes to advance, making bipartisan support mathematically necessary.
Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) said last Thursday the Republican version gave the president too much room to continue what he called his “grift” in crypto.
“At the end of the day, we don’t have strong ethics. I don’t care what the president says. You’re not going to have the Democratic votes,” Gallego said.
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A Democratic Senate aide told Crypto In America that “the Republican plan being presented to the president is weaker than what Democrats will accept.”
However, Senator Moreno pushed back, calling the bill’s ethics provision “the strongest of any piece of legislation ever passed by any Congress.”
How Much Time Is Left Before The Window Closes?
Only 14 working days remain before senators leave for the August recess. Negotiators need to tee up a cloture vote by the end of this week for the bill to reach the Senate floor in time. Missing that deadline effectively kills passage until after the break.
Blockchain Association CEO Summer Mersinger told Crypto In America she believes the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act provisions will remain intact and the banking language will not change significantly, though the Senate Agriculture Committee’s portion remains under active negotiation.
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