The US President Donald Trump wants the CLARITY Act to pass a Senate vote in honour of late crypto advocate Lindsey Graham, but new hurdles continue to arise ahead of the new deadline.
US President Donald Trump is calling on Senators to pass the CLARITY Act in honour of Senator Lindsey Graham who died aged 71 on 11 July, 2026.
Trump said on his Truth Social social media platform that Graham was a “big supporter” of the crypto market bill, calling on Senators to pass the legislation after it missed its initial 4 July deadline.
“In honor of Senator Lindsey Graham, a big supporter, the US Senate should pass the Clarity Act,” said Trump.
The US President urged the Senate to pass the CLARITY Act to establish the US as the crypto capital of the world, which he has campaigned for since running for a second term at the Oval Office in 2024.
He acknowledged the threat of China to this position and its adoption of AI. China is the second-largest Bitcoin sovereign owner with holdings between 190,000-194,000 BTC, with the US first with 328,000-329,000 BTC.
“China, and many other countries, would like to take complete and total control of this major financial “happening,” as well as AI, where we are now leading, but where they are fighting hard,” added Trump.
The CLARITY Act is one of the most significant US crypto and financial pieces of legislation in recent years. The bill will provide transparency over which agencies preside over jurisdiction over assets and digital commodities, as well as enforced guardrails and regulations for operating crypto and traditional firms to abide by.
The Senate Agriculture Committee, which oversees the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), passed its markup for the bill in late January in a 12-11 vote, despite no support from Democrat Senators.
The Senate Banking Committee, after months of debate between crypto and banking firms, finally passed its markup with a 15-9 vote in favour. The Banking Committee oversees the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
With Trump and White House Digital Asset Policy Lead, Patrick Witt, initially lining up 4 July for the Senate to pass the CLARITY Act in line with the US’ 250th anniversary celebrations, this was delayed and pushed back to 7 August.
Senators could not come to a compromise between both Senate Committees’ draft proposals, as well as which of the CFTC and SEC provides market jurisdiction over which digital financial instruments.
What were Graham’s crypto proposals
As Trump highlighted, Senator Graham was an advocate for crypto and digital asset adoption.
He worked on the Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2023, acting as a co-sponsor to the bill. This legislation aimed to bring in traditional finance-like anti-money laundering requirements to the crypto industry.
However, Graham did not sit on the Agriculture Banking Committee’s draft proposal hearings, nor the markup which saw the committee’s proposals passed for the CLARITY Act.
Graham did vote in favour for the establishment of the GENIUS Act, which was passed into law in July 2025 to bring stablecoins under regulatory oversight.
Further CLARITY Act delays ahead?
While the CLARITY Act was pushed back to 7 August, it may be in danger of further day, with Witt expected to return to his role on 27 July after serving military leave.
In his absence, Witt’s deputy, Harry Jung, will take over his role but Witt is also expected to be involved in discussions while undergoing Army National Guard training.
This comes at a pivotal time before a full Senate floor vote could possibly come about on 8 August if Republicans and Democrats can iron out differences in market jurisdictions, ethics discussions surrounding President Trump’s links to crypto, and who presides over the enforcement of the regulations.
One Senator who has been a staunch critic of the crypto market bill is Elizabeth Warren, who recently wrote a letter to Senators John Thune and Chuck Schumer arguing the bill would allow the President’s family to profit from the crypto industry if the regulation is signed by Trump.
Warren said in the letter: “Leader Thune has indicated he aims to hold a floor vote on crypto market structure legislation this month, despite significant flaws in the current draft that have raised concerns about risks to national security, financial stability, consumer protection, and ethics.
“Those concerns have become even more pressing in light of the President’s 2025 financial disclosure, which underscores the severity of his crypto-related conflicts of interest.”
Warren highlighted Trump’s recently disclosed crypto holdings, which totalled up to $1.4bn in value. The President also holds up to $500m in USD1, the stablecoin issued by World Liberty Financial (WLF) which is backed by his sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr.
Democrat Senators like Warren have repeatedly questioned the moral ethics behind the President’s insistence to pass the CLARITY Act.
‘Trump Family Members, for example, have a 30% ownership stake in DT Marks Defi LLC, a cryptocurrency venture that includes ‘Coinbase accounts’ worth over $100m and a ‘38.25% ownership interest in WLF Holdco LLC,’” Warren continued.
“‘WLF Holdco LLC. owns the only membership interest in World Liberty Financial, Inc.,’ the cryptocurrency company founded by President Trump and his sons. DT Marks Defi LLC alone generated over $590m in income in 2025.”
