TLDR
- The CLARITY Act failed a Senate cloture vote 49-50 on Sept. 15, well short of the 60 votes needed to begin debate.
- Every Democrat who voted opposed the motion, and four Republicans also voted no, including Sen. Thom Tillis.
- Sen. Cynthia Lummis blamed Democrats and Trump politics, while Democrats pointed to unresolved ethics rules.
- Tillis filed a motion to reconsider, which keeps the bill alive for a possible future vote.
- As of Sept. 23, no new Senate cloture vote had been posted in the official record.
The CLARITY Act remains stalled in the U.S. Senate after a procedural vote failed on Sept. 15. The crypto market structure bill fell short by a 49-50 margin.
The vote was on cloture for the motion to proceed with H.R. 3633. The bill needed 60 votes to move to debate, but only 49 senators voted in favor.
Sen. Cynthia Lummis blamed Democrats for the result. Democratic negotiators say unresolved ethics rules kept a deal from coming together.
How the Senate Voted on the CLARITY Act
Every Democrat who voted opposed cloture. Sen. Chris Coons did not vote.
Republicans Susan Collins, Josh Hawley and Jerry Moran also voted no. Sen. Thom Tillis cast a fourth Republican no vote for procedural reasons.
Tillis voted no so he could file a motion to reconsider. He filed it shortly after the result, which keeps a path open to bring the bill back.
The bill would set federal rules for digital commodities. It would split oversight between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
The House passed the bill in July 2025 by a vote of 294-134. That total included 216 Republicans and 78 Democrats.
Lummis and Democrats Give Different Reasons
Speaking at a CoinDesk event on Sept. 22, Lummis said she was “dismayed, dumbfounded and saddened” by the vote. She said the industry should “pin it on the Democrats.”
Lummis said politics around President Donald Trump drove the opposition. She added that Democratic negotiators kept changing their demands after Republicans accepted earlier requests.
Republican sponsors said the Sept. 14 draft included 126 changes Democrats had asked for. These included most of a Tillis-Gallego ethics proposal and new Treasury authority related to stablecoin deposit flight.
Sen. Angela Alsobrooks said she supports regulating digital assets. She said she wanted ethics limits covering the current president, future presidents and members of Congress.
Alsobrooks said negotiators were close to a deal before Republican leadership ended talks just before the vote.
Reuters reported that Trump disclosed more than $1.4 billion in 2025 income from family crypto ventures. The White House agreed to some ethics provisions, but Democrats said they were not enough.
Banks also raised concerns. They worried stablecoin rules could pull deposits away from banks and reduce lending.
Rep. Ritchie Torres said Trump’s crypto businesses, including his memecoin, made it harder for Democrats to back the bill. House Financial Services Committee Chair French Hill agreed the memecoin complicated talks but said Congress still needs a law.
On Sept. 16, seven Democratic senators, including Kirsten Gillibrand and Alsobrooks, said they remain committed to passing crypto market structure legislation. They called the vote a setback.
Crypto executives have warned the delay could slow U.S. product launches and business deals.
As of Sept. 23, no new Senate cloture vote on the bill had been posted in the official record. Republican sponsors still support bringing it back for another vote.
