Time is running out to get a vote on the long-awaited crypto Clarity Act, though bipartisan work is intensifying with the White House reviewing the latest draft behind closed doors, according to reports.
Senator Thom Tillis said that bipartisan language drafted and sent to the White House last week is currently being reviewed by the White House. “We’ve got people working with White House right now…they’re going through some of the lines right now,” he was quoted and first reported by Punchbowl News Senior Reporter Brendan Pendersen.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune declined to file cloture on the crypto market structure bill Wednesday afternoon, according to Punchbowl News, leaving negotiators only a narrow window to reach something resembling consensus.
Thune had told reporters earlier in the day that he still hoped for a vote before the break, and Republican and Democratic staff reportedly held a flurry of meetings over the prior 24 hours trying to close out remaining disagreements.
Despite optimism last week from top crypto companies — like Coinbase — and backing from major financial institutions, lawmakers appear to be prioritizing other bills to vote on before their five-week break starting Thursday or Friday.
JUST IN: 🇺🇸 Senator Tillis tells says the White House is now engaging on bipartisan Clarity Act ethics text, Punchbowl News reports.
“We’ve got people working with the White House right now…they're going through some of the lines right now” 👀 pic.twitter.com/y3vUHDcbr9
— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) August 5, 2026
Republicans like Senator Cynthia Lummis have said that Democrats are deliberately holding back the bill.
Senator Thom Tillis, who has been working with Democrats on ethics language for the bill, said the odds of a vote hinge on whether the Senate stays in Washington past its scheduled Thursday departure.
“If we were getting out on schedule, which would be tomorrow afternoon, I think it’d be a moonshot at this point,” Tillis said. “But there’s still a chance if we’re going to be delayed, particularly if we have to go into next week.”
Meanwhile, momentum for the bill is building outside the Senate floor. South Carolina Republican Darline Graham posted on X in support of swift passage, framing the Clarity Act as central to President Trump’s push to keep digital-asset innovation in the U.S.
She added that the Senate needs to deliver a bill that protects consumers, arms law enforcement, and gives the industry regulatory certainty, adding that she stands ready to back Senate Banking Chairman Tim Scott, Senator Cynthia Lummis, and the president in getting the legislation “across the finish line.”
If cloture is filed Thursday, a floor vote could still come as soon as this weekend — though a delay into next week may be the bill’s best remaining shot at passage before recess.
Mathew is a reporter who's covered the space since 2019, reporting on everything from Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele's Bitcoin bet to crypto exchange FTX's bankruptcy.