President Donald Trump has accepted one of Democrats’ biggest demands in the fight over U.S. crypto legislation, agreeing to give state attorneys general a role in enforcing new ethics restrictions as Republicans scramble for votes ahead of Tuesday’s crucial CLARITY Act test.
The concession is part of a new 635-page Senate proposal released Sunday and described by Republicans as their “last, best and final” offer to Democrats. The legislation is scheduled for a procedural vote Tuesday at 2:15 p.m. ET.
The change is significant because the White House previously resisted allowing state officials to enforce the ethics provisions.
Under the compromise, state attorneys general could bring enforcement actions, including against crypto exchanges that list digital assets prohibited under the legislation. Trump has accepted roughly 80% of a bipartisan ethics framework developed by Republican Sen. Thom Tillis and Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego, according to reporting on the negotiations.
Trump Gives Ground on a Major Democratic Demand
The enforcement question had become one of the biggest obstacles to a deal.
An earlier version placed primary enforcement power with the Justice Department. Democrats argued that relying on a DOJ controlled by a presidential administration created an obvious conflict when alleged violations involved the president or other senior officials.
The issue has changed dramatically since July. Sen. Cynthia Lummis previously said “absolutely not” when asked about allowing state attorneys general to sue federal elected officials over digital-asset matters. We covered that earlier ethics fight, making Sunday’s compromise a notable reversal in the negotiations.
Trump has also agreed to provisions that could require officials with substantial crypto-related financial interests to divest them or place them in a blind trust.
Tuesday’s Vote Still Needs Democrats
The agreement does not mean the CLARITY Act is passing Tuesday.
The Sept. 15 vote is a cloture vote on the motion to proceed, rather than final passage of the legislation. Coinpaper previously explained the significance of the September 15 vote and the 60-vote hurdle required to move forward.
With Republicans holding 53 Senate seats, they need at least seven members of the Democratic caucus if every Republican votes to advance the bill.
That is why the latest concessions matter. Just days ago, the unresolved ethics language was still described as the biggest obstacle facing the legislation, as Coinpaper noted in its coverage of the latest CLARITY Act draft.
