Late-Stage Political Breakdown Doomed the Clarity Act Vote

As negotiations accelerated late in the congressional session, lawmakers and lobbyists recognized that the looming election would make bipartisan progress increasingly difficult. Ethical concerns remained the central obstacle and had to be resolved before the legislation could advance.

President Trump twice agreed to concessions, including a second round of changes over the weekend. But Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego, one of the chief Democratic negotiators on the issue, said the adjustments fell far short.

“All President Trump wants is for the Senate to give him time to crime, and I won’t support any piece of legislation that enables him,” Gallego said.

Despite Senator Elizabeth Warren’s support, Gallego and other Democrats ultimately sided against the Clarity Act. Warren, a senior Democratic member of the Senate Banking Committee, had urged strong opposition to the bill. Her position grew more forceful as she highlighted Trump’s financial ties to the crypto industry, saying he had earned more than $1 billion from it during the first year of his second term.

“I believe we can get crypto legislation that both Republicans and Democrats can agree on. But not this bill,” she said on the Senate floor Tuesday. “This bill will turbocharge Donald Trump’s unprecedented corruption.”

Source link