BREAKING: Republicans Reject CLARITY Act Counteroffer from Democrats

Republicans dismissed a CLARITY Act counteroffer from Democrats, moving ahead with a Senate cloture vote on the final draft. Democrats were seeking more crypto ethics restrictions, decentralized finance policy changes, and protections to tribal gaming laws.

Katie Warbinton, spokesperson for Cynthia Lummis, said Democrats “have not budged an inch.” “They need to actually start negotiating instead of resubmitting the same demands and calling it progress,” she added.

Senate Republicans signaled that they will not reopen negotiations on a last-minute Democratic counteroffer. Republicans claimed the latest draft was a final compromise after more than a year of talks and over 120 changes requested by Democrats.

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Republicans Proceed for Senate Vote on CLARITY Act

The US Senate is scheduled to vote at 2:15 p.m. ET on cloture on the motion to proceed to H.R. 3633. This is not a final vote to pass the CLARITY Act. Invoking cloture takes 60 votes. Republicans hold 53 seats, so the bill needs support from Democratic Senators. Failure would likely sideline the CLARITY Act for the rest of this Congress, given the narrow window before midterms.

The late Democratic proposal, sent Monday night after a meeting in Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s office, focused heavily on ethics language covering federal officials’ crypto holdings.

Senator Cynthia Lummis said Democrats kept asking for additional concessions and despite the bill is ready for a vote. “There’s nothing left to give,” she said, claiming that some Democrats would not support the bill no matter what was in the text.

White House crypto adviser Patrick Witt, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse urged the Senate again to pass the CLARITY Act. Republicans believe the new text included stronger ethics rules and agreed by President Donald Trump.

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Ethics Remains the Core Dispute for Democrats

Democrats, including Senators Mark Warner, Ruben Gallego, and Raphael Warnock, said Republican ethics text still fell short. Concerns included whether state attorneys general could act directly against the president and whether the bill would restrict the president, family members, and government officials from gaining from crypto. Senator Elizabeth Warren on Monday focused on limiting conflicts tied to the Trump family’s crypto ventures.

Warner said Democrats working on the bill in good faith were sending a counterproposal. Details of that offer were not fully public as the vote approached. Democrats’ concerns come despite the new ethics rule is in line with earlier Tillis-Gallego bipartisan ethics proposal sent to White House.

Also Check: CLARITY Act LIVE Updates Today Sept. 15: Will Crypto Bill Pass Senate Cloture Vote Today?