Former U.S. President Donald Trump is calling on the Senate to pass the Digital Asset Market Structure and Investor Protection Act—commonly known as the CLARITY Act—in honor of late Senator Lindsey Graham, who passed away over the weekend at age 71.
In a post on Truth Social on Monday, Trump described Graham as “a big supporter” of the legislation and urged lawmakers to advance it swiftly. The Senate has approximately four weeks of session remaining before entering a month-long recess in August, creating a narrow window for legislative action.
However, public records indicate that Graham, a South Carolina Republican who served in the Senate since 2003, did not serve on key committees overseeing financial regulation—such as Banking or Agriculture—and had not cast any votes directly advancing the CLARITY Act. While he supported the 2025 Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, there is no documented evidence of him publicly endorsing the CLARITY bill.
The CLARITY Act aims to reassign primary regulatory authority over digital assets from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Despite bipartisan interest in crypto regulation, many Senate Democrats remain opposed unless the bill includes stronger safeguards against conflicts of interest involving lawmakers and the crypto industry. Critics have pointed to Trump’s own ties to crypto ventures, including his memecoin and his family’s World Liberty Financial firm.
Graham’s death, coupled with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s recent hospitalization, has reduced the Republican majority to 51–47. This likely necessitates Democratic support to reach the 60-vote threshold required to overcome procedural hurdles and pass the bill.
Cointelegraph reached out to the offices of Senators Tim Scott, Kirsten Gillibrand, and Angela Alsobrooks for comment on Trump’s remarks but received no immediate response. Senator Cynthia Lummis, however, expressed support on X (formerly Twitter), stating Graham “was passionate about ensuring that American leadership stayed at the forefront of everything—including digital assets.” Cointelegraph also contacted Lummis’ office for clarification on Graham’s stance on digital assets but has not yet received a reply.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.