Bessent Warns of Weakness if Senate Fails to Pass CLARITY Act by Deadline
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has urged the Senate to pass the CLARITY Act before its September 15 deadline. He warned that rejecting the bill would send a signal of weakness to competitors in digital finance.
Bessent took to social media to make his appeal, which quickly gained widespread attention. He framed the CLARITY Act as a security measure rather than just a market rule, echoing comments he made earlier in July when he emphasized market structure and timing over security concerns.
The Senate is set to hold a cloture vote on September 15, but it won't be a decisive vote on the bill. Instead, it will determine whether to open the CLARITY Act up for full floor debate. With Republicans controlling 53 seats in the Senate, they would need at least seven Democrats to cross over and support the bill to reach the required 60 votes.
The biggest obstacle to the bill remains its ethics language, which includes a provision banning officials from issuing crypto tokens. Senator Thom Tillis has stated that the bill needs White House backing for this clause. Law enforcement concerns have eased somewhat in recent weeks, with the National Sheriffs' Association dropping its opposition and now taking a neutral stance.