There are two timelines at war now. First, the Senate’s own calendar is famously difficult to negotiate, with any contentious bill requiring days of floor time. Every hour that passes narrows the legislative odds, as there are only seven days left before recess, when senators will leave Washington and largely shift their focus to the subsequent midterm elections that affect them.
The other time crunch has been the clock ticking on the negotiating table, with the two parties and the White House still working to round up the necessary 60 votes. Their latest effort must win over a lot of resistant Democrats and a few reluctant Republicans.
Crypto lobbyists are fervently hoping that negotiators — especially Tillis and Gallego — can find a workable middle ground, recirculate the revamped bill and see it advance through the Senate vote process. At this point, Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s prediction remains firm: The bill almost certainly won’t have enough time to finish the Senate’s multi-step process before recess.
But if it were to get going and potentially clear an initial 60-vote hurdle before next week is out, that could be enough to put it on a winning streak. To give that option the best chance, the industry would like Thune to make the first proposal by the end of the week on what is called “cloture,” the procedure that puts a bill up for a vote.
