Trump Holds Closed-Door CLARITY Act Meeting Days Before Vote

President Donald Trump convened his advisers on Friday to debate a single paragraph of legal language. Two days on, the passage remains unchanged. The Senate heads to a vote on Tuesday, September 15.

Politico was first to report the meeting, relying on two individuals who spoke on condition of anonymity. No one is saying which officials took part or what came out of the session. The White House has stayed quiet.

“…if there’s no interest in the White House in trying to bridge the gap on the ethics language, it is going to fail,” Republican Senator Thom Tillis warned recently.

The Contested Paragraph Blocking the Bill

The CLARITY Act would at last hand American crypto a set of rules, splitting oversight between two federal agencies. The measure has backing on Wall Street, and Trump supports it as well.

Yet a single paragraph is holding it up, as it would forbid the president, the vice president, senior officials and their spouses from creating or promoting their own coins.

The restrictions apply to spouses, notably, but not to children.

World Liberty Financial, the family crypto venture led by Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., saw its USD1 stablecoin receive a bank charter in August.

A Senate Banking minority summary lays out the other provisions that remain intact:

• Licensing pacts
• Blind trusts
• Paid appearances at crypto events

Trump reported approximately $1.4 billion in crypto income for 2025.

The Meaning of Tuesday's Vote

The vote Tuesday is a cloture motion rather than a passage vote, one that would simply move senators to the start of debate. A 60-vote majority is needed, and Republicans currently hold 53 seats. That means seven Democrats would have to break ranks. For months, they have said they would refuse unless children are also included.

Polymarket traders had the odds around 16% as of September 8, but after Friday's meeting the probability has since risen to 23% at the time of writing.

“Bad day to be a Clarity Act doomer,” commented Patrick Witt after Friday's meeting.

Patrick Witt, who advises Trump on crypto policy, offered no word on what changed. No one else has spoken up either, and just one working day, Monday, remains.