Clarity Act's Ethics Expiry Date of 2029 Has Democrats Seeing Red — Not Republican Red 🇺🇸

Bipartisan negotiators on the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act convened on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, with ethics rules for senior U.S. officials emerging as the principal remaining obstacle to a Senate floor vote, according to crypto journalist Eleanor Terrett. "Bipartisan discussions are taking place on Capitol Hill today relating to ethics, I'm told. Negotiators are also discussing DeFi provisions, but ethics remains the primary hurdle," Terrett wrote on X. A spokesperson for Senator Cynthia Lummis said last week's White House meeting "went well" and that the ethics text set to release in the coming days "will reflect that productive conversation."

The 616-page working draft released Wednesday by Senate Republicans would bar covered officials—including the president, vice president, members of Congress, federal judges, and their spouses—from issuing or sponsoring a digital asset, and would require them to divest crypto holdings or place them in a blind trust. The provision carries a sunset clause stating it will have "no force and effect on and after noon on January 20, 2029," the scheduled end of President Donald Trump's current term. The White House has described the language as "the most comprehensive and wide-ranging ethics provision in history." Enforcement would rest with the U.S. Attorney General, a point of contention: Democrats had pressed for state attorneys general to share authority, and Senator Angela Alsobrooks told Politico, "I wouldn't support the bill if that's the language. But we'll keep working from that floor to reach an agreement that holds us all accountable."

The draft does not extend the restrictions to the children of public officials, a notable gap given that all three of Trump's sons are co-founders of World Liberty Financial and two launched the Bitcoin ($BTC) mining company American Bitcoin. Financial disclosures released last month showed Trump earned more than $1.2 billion from crypto businesses last year, with one Senate source citing a figure of more than $1.4 billion in 2025 from his crypto ventures. Progressive groups including Indivisible and Demand Progress have criticized Senator Kirsten Gillibrand over her role in negotiating the ethics package, raising concerns over her own crypto ties and her son's new crypto venture.

The bill preserves the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act, which creates a safe harbor clarifying that non-custodial software developers are not "money transmitters" subject to associated compliance obligations. Digital Chamber CEO Cody Carbone said, "Today's draft is a meaningful step toward the Senate vote on the Clarity Act we've been calling for. We're encouraged, and we're ready to keep working until the bill reaches the president's desk." Senator Lummis, a Wyoming Republican and chief negotiator, said the bill "applies one ethics standard to everyone, including the President of the United States, and backs it up with real enforcement, real penalties, and a Department of Justice mandate to act. This is not talk."

Senate Majority Leader John Thune intends to bring the bill to the floor as soon as the beginning of next week, with August 7—the final day before the chamber's summer recess—seen as a major deadline. The legislation requires 60 votes to advance, meaning at least 10 Democrats must back it, and Democratic lawmakers had not yet seen the draft text, which was posted at Punchbowl News, when it began circulating. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott released the text on Wednesday, and Trump aide Todd Blanche was awaiting a Senate confirmation vote to head the Justice Department, the agency tasked with policing the new ethics rules.