“If Senate Democrats are blocking this historic legislation after the administration bent over backwards to accommodate their concerns, stakeholders should make no mistake: Democrats are blocking this legislation because they were never serious about a legislative outcome,” the White House official said.
Democratic negotiators such as Senators Kirsten Gillibrand, Ruben Gallego and Angela Alsobrooks reportedly did not receive details of the deal from Trump, who had met in person with Republican senators last week. But many Democrats have drawn a line in the sand that the ethics provision — driven primarily by Trump’s own deep crypto connections — must be strong.
The dispute was heightened recently by the president’s revelations that he had cashed in more than $1 billion from his crypto interests last year.
The White House, Republicans and their allies in the crypto industry are already building their case against any Democrat who does not accept the new answer to their ethical demands. It is unclear when they may see it.
The industry expects full rollout of the Clarity Act legislation as soon as Tuesday evening or Wednesday, although that expectation has been repeatedly delayed since last week.
The Senate has less than three weeks to finalize the bill, including the ethics piece, and get it through the political gauntlet of a floor vote before lawmakers leave town for their re-election campaigns. There is technically enough time, but even without significant further debate it would be tight.
