Bessent Demands Senate Vote "NOW" on CLARITY Act, Mocks Warren as "Bespectacled Squirrel" 🐿️

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has called on the U.S. Senate to vote on the CLARITY Act before its recess next week, urging lawmakers to advance the crypto market structure bill without further delay. In a post on X, Bessent wrote that the Senate needs to vote "NOW" on the legislation and accused Senate Democrats of stalling the measure.

Bessent directly criticized Senator Elizabeth Warren and her "anti-crypto army," suggesting that Democratic opposition to the bill stems from fear of Warren's political influence rather than policy concerns. He wrote that Senate Majority Leader John Thune will soon put that theory to the test. "Will Senate Democrats be on the side of American Exceptionalism, or will they opt to cede American leadership of a global industry for fear of the bespectacled squirrel's Left flank?" Bessent questioned.

The Treasury Secretary also pushed back on criticism of the BRCA provision, which has emerged as one of the major obstacles to a bipartisan deal on the bill. Bessent argued that the provision simply codifies existing Treasury Department policy, rejecting claims that it would expand federal authority over digital assets in ways that concern industry stakeholders.

The CLARITY Act is intended to establish a formal market structure framework for digital assets in the United States, defining the jurisdictional roles of federal agencies including the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The bill has drawn support from portions of the crypto industry but remains the subject of negotiation in the Senate, particularly over provisions related to stablecoins and tokenized securities.

Bessent's public pressure marks one of the most direct interventions by a sitting Treasury Secretary in the legislative debate over U.S. crypto policy, as the chamber moves toward its scheduled recess. The Senate has not yet announced a firm date for a floor vote on the measure, and negotiations over the BRCA language are expected to continue in the coming days.