- Senate talks on the CLARITY Act stalled over proposed ethics rules for officials.
- Lummis said ethics provisions remain the biggest hurdle to bipartisan agreement.
- The bill’s path before the August recess now depends on a bipartisan compromise.
Senate negotiations over the CLARITY Act have encountered a new hurdle after disagreements over ethics provisions complicated bipartisan efforts to advance the cryptocurrency market structure bill.
Senator Cynthia Lummis said in an interview said that Democrats want stricter ethics rules for elected officials with digital-asset interests, including a proposal that would allow state attorneys general to bring legal action against federal officials over alleged ethics violations.
Lummis said the proposal has become a sticking point in negotiations despite months of bipartisan talks. She said the ethics provisions would apply to the president, vice president, members of Congress, federal judges and other officials, arguing that lawmakers should write rules that last instead of measures aimed at any one administration.
Lummis said Democrats remain focused on President Donald Trump’s digital-asset business interests, even though he has agreed to place his assets in a blind trust or divest holdings that generate digital-asset revenue. “Somehow that’s not enough,” she said, adding that Democrats appeared intent on “getting a pound of flesh from President Trump.”
She also said Senator Thom Tillis is continuing to work with Democrats on compromise language for the ethics provisions. Still, Lummis acknowledged that reaching a bipartisan agreement on the legislation remains a difficult task.
Democrats have pushed for stricter limits on elected officials and other public servants profiting from digital assets. Senator Elizabeth Warren has also called for President Donald Trump’s updated financial disclosure as lawmakers debate the bill.
As the August recess approaches, the ethics provisions have become the biggest hurdle to advancing the CLARITY Act. Whether negotiators can reach a compromise may determine if the bill reaches the Senate floor before lawmakers leave Washington.
Related: Seven Democrats Oppose Latest CLARITY Act Draft
