Lummis Says Trump Opposition Helped Derail Crypto Clarity Act

Senator Cynthia Lummis said the crypto industry should “pin it on the Democrats” after the Senate failed to advance the Clarity Act in a procedural vote last week.

Speaking Tuesday at CoinDesk’s Policy & Regulation event in Washington, D.C., Lummis said she was “dismayed, dumbfounded and saddened” by the Senate’s inability to move forward with the crypto market structure legislation.

Lummis attributed the setback to Democratic opposition to President Donald Trump, while emphasizing that the legislation had been developed through negotiations involving lawmakers from both parties.

“The problem was, as I see it, Democrats hate President [Donald] Trump more than they like good policy,” Lummis said. She argued that Democrats had chosen opposition to Trump over advancing legislation before the midterm elections and added, “pin it on the Democrats.”

The Clarity Act sought to establish clearer regulatory responsibilities for the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission across crypto markets, including spot trading.

The Senate rejected the procedural vote last Tuesday after all Democrats and three Republicans voted against it. Senator Thom Tillis, the fourth Republican involved, initially voted differently before changing his vote to “no” at the last moment for procedural reasons.

Lummis said the bill was fundamentally bipartisan and had expanded from roughly 300 pages to more than 600 pages during negotiations. Democrats had sought additional provisions, including measures addressing bankruptcy protections, she said.

She also criticized efforts to attribute the failed vote to industry figures, including Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, or to the crypto sector’s lobbying strategy. Lummis additionally pointed to criticism of Trump over his cryptocurrency activities.

Trump reported in a 2026 mid-year financial disclosure that he earned $1.4 billion from his various crypto ventures in 2025, his first year as president.

Lummis nevertheless credited Democratic Senators Angela Alsobrooks and Kirsten Gillibrand for acting as “honest brokers” during negotiations. Gillibrand has worked with Lummis for years on cryptocurrency legislation.

House lawmakers weigh in

House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill and Congressman Ritchie Torres also addressed the Senate vote during a separate session Tuesday.

Both lawmakers said some version of the Clarity Act remains necessary.

Hill argued that the legislation would provide statutory clarity around areas including the Howey test, fundraising and the treatment of software developers. Rather than focusing on the failed Senate cloture vote, he said lawmakers should determine how to move the legislation forward on a bipartisan basis.

Torres said Trump’s involvement in crypto had complicated the political environment surrounding the bill.

“Even though the failure of Clarity had multiple causes,” Torres said, he believed Democrats and Republicans might have reached an agreement if not for Trump. He said Trump’s personal memecoin created a political obstacle for Democrats considering the legislation.

Hill agreed that Trump’s memecoin “absolutely did poison the well of the debate” among Democrats. However, he noted that the memecoin had also existed the previous year, when lawmakers from both parties advanced the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act, known as the GENIUS Act, while the House passed its version of the Clarity Act.

Hill said the political landscape could change after this year’s midterm elections, when Trump would become a “lame duck.” He argued that Democrats and Republicans would still need to cooperate if Congress wants to establish rules governing presidential involvement in crypto as well as broader industry regulation.

Torres said the legislation’s purpose should remain focused on regulating crypto markets, establishing fair and orderly trading conditions and protecting consumers and investors. Turning the debate into a referendum on Trump, he said, changes the nature of the legislative discussion.

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