Daily News 19

Tag: Cynthia Lummis

  • Democrats ‘chose visceral hatred for’ Donald Trump Over crypto Clarity Act, Lummis Says

    Democrats ‘chose visceral hatred for’ Donald Trump Over crypto Clarity Act, Lummis Says

    Key Highlights

    • Senator Cynthia Lummis blamed Senate Democrats for blocking a procedural vote on bipartisan crypto market structure legislation last week, calling the outcome “dismayed, dumbfounded and saddened.”
    • Speaking at CoinDesk’s Policy & Regulation event, Lummis alleged Democrats prioritized opposition to President Donald Trump over passing the bill, which had grown from 300 to over 600 pages after Democratic requests for provisions such as bankruptcy protections.
    • The legislation was the product of cross-party negotiations, but failed to advance before the midterm election cycle, leaving digital asset regulatory clarity in limbo.

    Lummis Points Finger at Democratic Opposition to Trump

    Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) delivered a sharp rebuke of her Democratic colleagues on Tuesday, arguing that partisan animosity toward President Donald Trump derailed a carefully negotiated crypto market structure bill that had achieved rare bipartisan consensus. Addressing attendees at CoinDesk’s Policy & Regulation event in Washington, D.C., Lummis said she was “dismayed, dumbfounded and saddened” that the Senate could not advance a key procedural vote on the measure last week.

    The Wyoming Republican framed the failure as a deliberate choice by Democrats to deny the incoming administration a legislative win ahead of the midterm elections. The problem was, as I see it, Democrats hate President [Donald] Trump more than they like good policy, and the way I see it is they chose their visceral hatred for President Trump and denied the opportunity to pass important policy legislation before a midterm, Lummis said. They chose that … pin it on the Democrats.

    Bill Expanded Significantly After Democratic Input

    Lummis emphasized that the legislation was not a partisan product but the result of extensive negotiations between members of both parties. She noted the bill had ballooned from roughly 300 pages to more than 600 after Democrats requested additional provisions addressing issues such as bankruptcy protections, among other items. Those concessions, she argued, demonstrated Republican willingness to accommodate Democratic priorities, only for the bill to stall at the procedural stage.

    The stalled measure represents the most comprehensive attempt to date to establish a clear regulatory framework for digital asset markets in the United States. Its failure to advance leaves critical questions unresolved regarding the classification of tokens, the roles of the SEC and CFTC, consumer protections, and the treatment of digital assets in bankruptcy proceedings — issues the expanded text had sought to address.

    Why This Matters

    The collapse of the bipartisan crypto market structure bill underscores how broader political dynamics — particularly the polarized response to President Trump — can override substantive policy agreement on emerging technologies. With the legislation now stalled, regulatory uncertainty continues to hamper the digital asset industry, driving activity offshore and complicating compliance for U.S.-based firms. The next opportunity for comprehensive crypto legislation will likely depend on the composition of the next Congress and whether either party chooses to revive the negotiated text or pursue a new approach. For now, the SEC and CFTC will continue to rely on existing enforcement authorities, and market participants will operate without the statutory clarity the bill was designed to provide.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    What specific provisions did Democrats request that expanded the bill?

    According to Senator Lummis, Democrats asked for provisions addressing bankruptcy protections, among other items, which caused the bill to grow from roughly 300 pages to over 600 pages.

    Was the crypto market structure bill a partisan or bipartisan effort?

    Lummis described the bill as a bipartisan product resulting from negotiations between members of both parties, though it ultimately failed to advance due to what she characterized as Democratic opposition to President Trump.

    What happens next for crypto regulation in the Senate?

    With the procedural vote blocked before the midterm elections, the legislation is effectively stalled. Future progress will depend on the next Congress’s composition and priorities, and whether lawmakers choose to revive this negotiated text or start anew.

  • Will the CLARITY Act Pass the Senate Today?

    Will the CLARITY Act Pass the Senate Today?

    Connor Brown, Executive Director of the Bitcoin Policy Institute and former Senate staffer, outlined the stakes as the Senate prepares for a cloture vote today on the CLARITY Act. With Republicans holding 53 seats and two potentially absent, the measure requires 7 to 9 Democrats to cross the aisle to reach the 60-vote threshold. This procedural vote does not decide the bill’s final passage; it determines only whether the Senate can proceed to debate and an eventual up-or-down vote.

    Years of Legislative Groundwork

    Brown characterized the vote as the culmination of years of legislative effort, tracing the lineage back to the Token Taxonomy Act and the Lummis-Gillibrand framework on which he worked during his Senate tenure. He described the current text as Republicans’ “final and best offer” to pass comprehensive digital asset legislation before the election, with only a handful of session days remaining.

    “This really is sort of a buzzer-beater moment,” Brown said, “for this legislative package and for a clear set of lasting rules for the digital asset industry.”

    Ethics Compromise Breaks Logjam

    The provision that stalled negotiations longest—government ethics restrictions—shifted significantly when former President Trump agreed to approximately 80% of Democratic requests. Brown called the resulting compromise “pretty compelling,” noting it extends restrictions to officials’ spouses and grants individual states authority to pursue exchanges and seek injunctions against the Justice Department.

    “80% of the way there,” Brown said, “sounds like a pretty good deal for something that otherwise would be 0% of the way there.”

    Congress vs. Agency Rulemaking

    Brown framed the vote as a fundamental choice: allow regulatory agencies like the SEC and CFTC to write industry rules unilaterally, or give Congress a direct role in shaping the regulatory framework. With Senator Cynthia Lummis’s updated draft reportedly incorporating 115 Democratic-requested changes, Brown argued the question facing senators today is not whether the bill is perfect, but whether Congress wants a seat at the table or prefers to default to agency rulemaking.

  • Senate Democrats Hold Last-Minute Meeting Ahead of Crucial Crypto Vote

    Senate Democrats Hold Last-Minute Meeting Ahead of Crucial Crypto Vote

    Senate Democrats Convene Emergency Caucus on Crypto Clarity Act Ahead of Critical Tuesday Vote

    Senate Democrats are holding a last-minute caucus meeting Sunday evening to discuss the Clarity Act, a landmark cryptocurrency market structure bill, ahead of a crucial procedural vote scheduled for Tuesday. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer convened the session as lawmakers continue working to resolve several major disagreements surrounding the legislation, according to Politico.

    Procedural Vote Will Determine Bill’s Path Forward

    The Tuesday vote is expected to determine whether the legislation can advance to broader Senate consideration. The outcome remains uncertain as a group of roughly a dozen Democratic senators has spent months negotiating over the bill, but several major issues remain unresolved.

    Among the lawmakers involved in the discussions are Senators Kirsten Gillibrand, Mark Warner, Ruben Gallego, Lisa Blunt Rochester, Andy Kim, and Angela Alsobrooks, according to crypto commentator Chad Steingraber.

    60-Vote Threshold Requires Bipartisan Support

    The legislation will need 60 votes to advance. Assuming all voting Republicans back the measure, at least several Democratic senators would also have to support the procedural motion. Democrats are pushing for stricter conflict-of-interest restrictions, which remain the key obstacle so far.

    The Senate Banking Committee previously advanced the legislation in May in a bipartisan 15-9 vote. A fresh version of the roughly 630-page bill was unveiled on Thursday.

    Weekend Negotiations Continue as Deadline Looms

    Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz said earlier on Sunday that negotiations were continuing over the weekend. Tuesday’s procedural vote would make it possible for the legislation to move toward full Senate consideration.

    As reported by U.Today, Senator Cynthia Lummis has warned that failure to advance the legislation could delay comprehensive cryptocurrency market structure legislation for years.

  • Sen. Lummis: CLARITY Act Won’t Fail on Ethics, but Democrats Could Kill Bill

    Sen. Lummis: CLARITY Act Won’t Fail on Ethics, but Democrats Could Kill Bill

    Senator Lummis Defends CLARITY Act Amid Ethics Debate, Warns of Democratic Opposition

    Senator Cynthia Lummis insists the CLARITY Act will not fail over ethics concerns, but warns the bipartisan digital asset legislation could collapse if Democrats refuse to support what she describes as a consumer protection framework. The Wyoming Republican frames the upcoming Senate vote as a pivotal choice between advancing American innovation or ceding financial leadership to China.

    Bipartisan Committee Victory Sets Up September 15 Cloture Vote

    The CLARITY Act cleared the Senate Banking Committee with a 15-9 bipartisan vote, signaling initial cross-party support. However, the legislation now faces a critical procedural hurdle: a cloture motion scheduled for 2:15 p.m. ET on September 15 that requires 60 votes to advance to formal debate.

    With Republicans holding 53 Senate seats, at least seven Democrats or independents must join them if the GOP votes unanimously. Failure to reach the 60-vote threshold would likely stall the bill for the remainder of the congressional session, increasing pressure on negotiators to reach a compromise.

    Lummis: Ethics Not the Obstacle, Democratic Demands Are

    Addressing speculation that ethics provisions could derail the bill, Lummis directly attributed potential failure to Democratic reluctance.

    “If this bill fails, it won’t be because of ethics,” “It will be because Democrats didn’t join Republicans in embracing a bipartisan bill that protected consumers, cements America’s leadership in digital assets, and empowered law enforcement to clamp down on illicit finance.”

    The senator argued that Democratic amendments seek to grant future regulators excessive authority over the cryptocurrency industry, a move she characterizes as overreach that could stifle innovation.

    CLARITY Act Would Split Oversight Between CFTC and SEC

    The legislation aims to establish regulatory clarity by dividing digital asset oversight between the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Lummis emphasized the bill’s consumer protection provisions, particularly in light of the FTX collapse.

    She highlighted that FTX customers endured years of bankruptcy proceedings because existing law lacked a framework for digital assets. Under the CLARITY Act, digital commodities would be classified as customer property in bankruptcy proceedings.

    FTX customers waited for years for bankruptcy courts to claw back their money because current law never built a framework for digital assets. The Clarity Act makes digital commodities customer property in bankruptcy, ensuring consumers are protected and made whole.

    — Senator Cynthia Lummis (@SenLummis) September 8, 2026

    Warning of Decade-Long Delay If Bill Fails

    Lummis has previously cautioned that failure to pass the CLARITY Act could push the next major market structure effort to 2030, costing the United States jobs, investment, and tax revenue. With the cloture vote one week away, she issued a stark choice to her colleagues.

    “Next week, my colleagues have a choice: they can choose American innovation and strong consumer protections, or cede the future of finance to China.”

    The standoff underscores a broader legislative impasse: while both parties acknowledge the need for digital asset regulation, fundamental disagreements over regulatory scope and agency authority threaten to derail the most significant crypto market structure bill in years.