Key Takeaways
- House Majority Whip Tom Emmer says the CLARITY Act could return after the November midterms and still pass before the end of 2026.
- The Senate failed to advance the bill Tuesday, with the procedural vote falling short of the 60 votes required.
- Seven Democratic senators who opposed advancing the current version have since said they remain committed to negotiating crypto market-structure legislation.
The CLARITY Act could get another shot at becoming law this year despite its bruising Senate defeat, according to House Majority Whip Tom Emmer.
Emmer said the failed procedural vote does not necessarily kill the crypto market-structure bill and pointed to the post-midterm lame-duck session as the next possible window.
“Very disappointing they did not get this passed yesterday or get the process started, but I don’t think it spells doom,” Emmer told Fox Business on Wednesday.
He said the setback could simply delay the legislation until after the midterms, when Congress could try to finish it before year-end.
CLARITY Act Still Needs 60 Senate Votes
The optimism follows Tuesday’s Senate vote, where lawmakers failed to invoke cloture and begin formal consideration of the CLARITY Act.
The motion received a 50-49 majority but needed 60 votes, with four Republicans joining Democrats in opposing advancement.
Republican Sen. Thom Tillis changed his vote for procedural reasons, preserving an avenue for reconsideration.
The setback came despite more than a year of negotiations over some of the industry’s most contentious issues, including stablecoin rewards, decentralized finance, regulatory authority, and ethics restrictions involving elected officials.
Seven Democratic senators, including Kirsten Gillibrand, Cory Booker, and Mark Warner, have since said they remain committed to bipartisan negotiations. However, they have not announced revised legislation or a date for another vote.
November Could Be CLARITY’s Last 2026 Window
The congressional calendar is now the biggest obstacle.
House leaders canceled eight September voting days, with representatives leaving Washington on Sept. 17 and regular legislative work not expected to resume until after the Nov. 3 midterm elections.
That makes passage before the election highly unlikely and shifts attention to the lame-duck period between the election and the end of the current Congress.
Even then, the bill faces several steps. The Senate would first need enough support to advance and ultimately approve legislation. Any Senate version differing from the House-passed bill would then have to return to the House or go through reconciliation before reaching President Donald Trump’s desk.
Emmer nevertheless argues Congress cannot afford another lengthy delay, saying before Tuesday’s vote that the legislation “absolutely has to get done by the end of the year.”
For now, the CLARITY Act has a possible route to passage in 2026, but Emmer’s timetable depends first on lawmakers finding the Senate votes that were missing this week.
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Giuseppe Ciccomascolo began his career as an investigative journalist in Italy, where he contributed to both local and national newspapers, focusing on various financial sectors.
Upon relocating to London, he worked as an analyst for Fitch's CapitalStructure and later as a Senior Reporter for Alliance News. In 2017, Giuseppe transitioned to covering cryptocurrency-related news, producing documentaries and articles on Bitcoin and other emerging digital currencies. He also played a pivotal role in establishing the academy for a cryptocurrency exchange website. Crypto remained his primary area of interest throughout his tenure as a writer for ThirdFloor.
