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Clarity Act ethics fight
Democratic opposition to the Clarity Act is intensifying as the U.S. Senate prepares for its final vote on the bill before the August recess, with critics focusing on the bill’s lack of provisions to restrict President Donald Trump from potentially profiting from his substantial crypto holdings.
“Trump's crypto riches loom over Clarity Act talks to ban conflicts for U”
The negotiations over the crypto market structure bill’s ethics provision have centered on Trump’s personal gains, including a disclosure that the crypto sector increased his wealth by some $1.4 billion, according to a briefing of U.S. Senate Democrats’ offices.
A new draft of the bill is expected to emerge in the next couple of days as the Senate runs short on time, but people briefed on the negotiations said they’d hit a recent wall on what to do about the ethics provision.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune suggested he’d press forward with a Clarity vote this month, whatever shape the bill is in, even as the clock runs out before the summer recess.
In a statement, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand said, “We cannot let self-dealing destroy an opportunity to strengthen consumer protections,” while arguing the bill can’t pass until ethics reforms prohibit members of Congress, the president and their spouses from cashing in on their office.
Draft talks and pressure
Senator Chris Murphy, along with senators Chris Van Hollen and Jeff Merkley, planned a press conference on Capitol Hill to state their opposition to Clarity and what they said is its “failure to rein in President Donald Trump’s corrupt crypto schemes.”
In the ethics discussions, ethics and anti-corruption advocates rounded up by Senator Chris Murphy suggested last week that Trump needed to be prevented from further profit from the industry his administration is regulating, according to a person familiar with the discussion.
Senator Cynthia Lummis, described as the Republican crypto advocate who leads the Senate Banking Committee, was referenced as part of the broader political landscape around the bill’s advancement.
The negotiations have also been shaped by Trump’s signaling that he’s eager to get Clarity signed, even as he demanded Congress prioritize his voting bill above all else.
Gillibrand also said in a statement, “The time to act is now — and that must include ethics reforms,” tying the ethics fight directly to consumer protections and illicit finance concerns.
Committee advances, Senate next
The U.S. Senate Banking Committee voted in favor of the markup of the CLARITY Act on May 14, 2026, concluding in the affirmative and sending the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act to the Senate floor for a full vote.
The committee’s movement depended on Senator John Kennedy (R-LA), who announced the day before his support in exchange for an agreement with the committee chair Tim Scott, including a fiduciary duty provision for crypto sector actors and attaching the Build Now Act to the text.
The ethical amendment prohibiting lawmakers from profiting from cryptocurrencies was not part of the committee text, in line with the jurisdictional issue raised by Republicans, leaving the ethics question to be added later by another committee.
The same source said Bitcoin’s permanent status under the CLARITY Act would convert an administrative classification into permanent federal status codified in law, and it cited Citi Research projecting an additional $15 billion of inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs once the bill is signed.
Republican Representative Mike Flood commented on X, “The CLARITY Act will help usher in the golden age of digital assets,” as the House adopted the first U.S. law regulating cryptocurrencies and the measure now must be reviewed by the Senate.
