Senate Republicans Unveil ‘Final’ Clarity Act Draft as Trump Backs Ethics Changes

Key Takeaways

• Senate Republicans released a revised Clarity Act draft incorporating 126 substantive changes requested by Democrats.
• President Donald Trump accepted most proposed ethics restrictions covering public officials and their spouses.
• The September 15 procedural vote requires 60 votes, and advancing the bill would still leave several legislative steps.

Senate Republicans released what they called the final draft of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act late Sunday. The revised text includes ethics restrictions and a stablecoin rewards safeguard ahead of a September 15 procedural vote.

Sens. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), and Tim Scott (R-S.C.) said the revised text incorporates 126 substantive changes requested by Democrats. The draft would be offered as a substitute amendment if senators approve cloture, the procedural step needed to move the legislation forward.

Republicans said the new version addresses two disputes that complicated negotiations: conflicts of interest involving public officials’ crypto businesses and banks’ concerns that stablecoin rewards could draw away deposits.

Trump Accepts Most Ethics Provisions

The Associated Press reported that President Donald Trump has largely agreed to the proposed ethics language for the Clarity Act. Republicans said the draft incorporates most of the ethics proposal developed by Sens. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), including a role for state attorneys general in enforcing conflict-of-interest rules. That provision had been a condition of support for some Democrats.

The negotiations come amid scrutiny of Trump’s family-linked crypto ventures, including World Liberty Financial, the USD1 stablecoin, and the TRUMP memecoin. Those business interests have raised questions about potential conflicts as his administration develops digital asset policy.

“After a year of intense daily bipartisan negotiations, this bill is ready. President Trump voluntarily agreed to unprecedented ethics restrictions, holding every federally elected official, judge, and their spouses to some of the toughest ethics restrictions in U.S. history. This text is truly bipartisan and includes more than 120 of Democrats’ demands,” Lummis wrote on X. “Democrats got what they wanted; now they need to take yes for an answer.”

— Senator Cynthia Lummis (@SenLummis) Sep 14, 2026

The bill text shows that the ethics requirements will cover public officials and employees, including the president, vice president, and members of Congress, as well as their spouses. However, the bill does not specify equivalent restrictions on other officials’ family members, such as an official’s children.

Stablecoin Safeguard Targets Bank Deposit Flight

The draft also proposes a temporary safeguard allowing the Treasury Secretary to restrict stablecoin rewards if payment stablecoins cause substantial withdrawals from community banks. The proposed safeguard would apply for 18 months after enactment.

Banks have pushed for tighter restrictions on stablecoin rewards, arguing that they could draw deposits away from traditional accounts. The bill limits interest payments on idle stablecoin holdings while still allowing rewards tied to stablecoin use.

Before the latest text was released, the American Bankers Association criticized the existing rewards language as unclear and potentially contradictory.

In an emailed statement reported by The Block, the association said, “Why is it a few loud crypto voices, many tied to one company, are allowed to stand in the way of a solution that would improve the bill’s chances of clearing Congress?” The association also said, “Any fair reading of the current stablecoin rewards section must conclude that it's unclear and even contradictory. If adopted, it will lead to legal challenges and more uncertainty.”

Other provisions in the new text would amend the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act to narrow money-transmission registration requirements for certain software developers, impose Agriculture Committee guardrails on affiliate trading and conflicts of interest, add a civil safe harbor, and clarify when or how state-level consumer protection laws apply.

September 15 Vote Is Only the First Hurdle

Patrick Witt, executive director of the White House Council of Advisors for Digital Assets, wrote on X, “After more than a year’s worth of negotiations, it’s time to pass this bipartisan bill.”

The Clarity Act has a narrow window for timely passage. Tuesday’s cloture vote requires 60 votes. Republicans hold 53 seats, meaning at least seven Democrats or independents would be needed if every Republican supports the measure.

If cloture is approved, amendments, final Senate passage, and House consideration of the Senate’s changes would still need to fit into the remaining legislative calendar.

The timetable is tight. The Senate’s tentative 2026 schedule shows a state work period beginning October 5, with Election Day on November 3. Meanwhile, House leaders have canceled sessions for the weeks of September 21 and September 28, which further shrinks the window.

The immediate test is whether the revised ethics and stablecoin provisions can secure enough bipartisan support to move the bill forward.

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