Trump Presses Senate to Pass Clarity Act, Citing Graham
Get the Finance newsletter
Daily finance — markets, central banks, M&A, the prints that move money. Free.
- Trump called on the Senate to pass the Clarity Act in a Truth Social post Monday, framing it as honoring Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who died at 71 over the weekend, and warning against letting China control crypto and AI.
- The Clarity Act, backed by the crypto industry and the White House, is one of the first wide-ranging pieces of crypto legislation; the Senate Banking Committee approved it 15-9 in May with two Democrats joining Republicans to advance it.
- Democrats are pushing for increased ethics guardrails for elected officials like Trump, who the article notes 'has made billions of dollars on digital currencies' — the angle The Block's headline spotlights as a looming fight.
- Coinbase, Circle, and Ripple support the bill, hoping regulation will encourage investors, while banks, law enforcement, and some labor groups oppose it — banks warned it could let crypto groups offer interest-like payments to stablecoin holders and shrink bank deposits.
- Graham's death narrows the Senate Republican majority to 52-47, making the Clarity Act's path harder even though Graham did not serve on the Banking Committee and did not cast one of the May votes.
Why it matters: With a 52-47 GOP majority, Trump can afford only one defection, and Democrats are demanding ethics guardrails aimed at his own crypto billions — turning a policy fight into a personal one that could determine whether the bill clears the Senate at all.
