Former President Donald Trump is urging the U.S. Senate to pass the CLARITY Act in honor of Senator Lindsey Graham, who died Saturday at age 71 following a sudden illness. The push comes as the comprehensive crypto market structure bill faces a rapidly closing window for legislative action before Congress departs for its August recess.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump tied the bill’s fate to Graham’s memory and emphasized the strategic importance of maintaining U.S. leadership in cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence amid growing competition from China. “Don’t let China win on either subject,” Trump wrote, asserting that both sectors remain areas where the United States currently holds an edge but is under increasing foreign pressure.
The CLARITY Act, which passed the House nearly a year ago, has remained stalled in the Senate. With Republicans holding 53 of 100 Senate seats, the bill still requires 60 votes to overcome procedural hurdles. At least two Republican senators are expected to oppose it, meaning support from at least seven Democrats is necessary. So far, only two Senate Democrats have publicly endorsed the legislation, leaving a significant gap with the August 7 deadline looming.
Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), a leading crypto advocate, warned that failure to act before the recess could delay meaningful federal crypto regulation until 2030, citing upcoming midterm elections and potential shifts in Senate control.
The bill would classify Bitcoin and Ethereum as commodities under the jurisdiction of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), permanently barring the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from reclassifying them as securities. The House Financial Services Committee plans to hold a field hearing on the legislation on July 17 in New York to build momentum ahead of a possible Senate floor vote.
Meanwhile, ethical concerns persist. Five Democratic senators have called for hearings into the national security implications of Trump’s personal cryptocurrency holdings. A 2025 financial disclosure revealed approximately $1.4 billion tied to crypto ventures, including a meme coin and a finance platform linked to his family. In response, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) has proposed a provision that would ban elected officials from holding meme coins—a measure some view as a potential compromise to attract bipartisan support before the August deadline.