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Some U.S. Senate Democrats come out against Clarity Act, calling it a 'corrupt' bill

Certain Democrats are taking an increasingly rigorous stand against the crypto market structure bill, which needs a significant number from their party to pass.

YayaNewsFinancial news writer2026-07-15 03:49Updated: 2026-07-15 03:490 ViewsSource CoinDesk

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Some U.S. Senate Democrats come out against Clarity Act, calling it a 'corrupt' bill

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Some U.S. Senate Democrats come out against Clarity Act, calling it a 'corrupt' bill

Certain Democrats are taking an increasingly rigorous stand against the crypto market structure bill, which needs a significant number from their party to pass.

Jesse Hamilton

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Nikhilesh De

Jul 14, 2026, 6:57 p.m.

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Democratic U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (left) and Chris Murphy (right) criticize the Clarity Act effort and the president's crypto dealings. (Jesse Hamilton/CoinDesk)

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A trio of U.S. Senate Democrats made an opposition case against the crypto Clarity Act at a Washington press conference.

They argued that unless it directly addresses the "corruption" of President Donald Trump's personal crypto ties, it shouldn't be supported.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Three Democrats from the U.S. Senate argued there are "lots of reasons" to oppose the currency crypto legislative effort even as advocates of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act seek to craft a version that will win enough yes votes from Democrats to clear the Senate's 60-vote hurdle.

Senators Chris Murphy, Chris Van Hollen and Jeff Merkley had already been openly critical of the crypto regulation bill, and on Tuesday they further solidified that position that's also associated with Senator Elizabeth Warren. At a press conference on Capitol Hill, the trio called for taking a political stand against the bill, focusing on President Donald Trump's personal crypto profits as a major red flag.

Senator Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat who serves on the Senate Banking Committee, called the Clarity Act a "corrupt piece of legislation that will do a lot of harm."

The Clarity Act will need to be sold to a large number of Democrats in the coming days, if it's going to advance from the Senate before Congress' summer break and the focus on this fall's midterm elections. Though a new and potentially final draft is set to emerge as soon as Tuesday, it's still absent a resolution on what may be the last and most important sticking point: a section that bans senior government officials — including the president — from personally engaging in the crypto industry.

That ethics provision remains at the forefront of the debate, and many Democrats have said they can't vote for a Clarity Act that doesn't have it. Those vows also came from the Democrats who have been at the negotiating table and voted yes on the bill when it was approved by the Senate Banking Committee.

"If this system does not stop Trump's corruption of the entire industry, this bill is worthless," said Murphy, who hasn't been among Democrats at the negotiating table with Republicans. "If it protects Trump's dominance over an industry that he will have more control to regulate, in fact, the bill is, in and of itself, a fundamental corruption if it gives Trump's corruption the protection of law."

The Connecticut lawmaker argued that it was unbelievable that the bill has made it this far without a section that totally severs Trump and his family from their crypto entanglements.

So far, there's been no sign of a compromise that will satisfy both sides and the White House.

In the meantime, President Donald Trump's recent financial disclosures (and the revelations of more than $1 billion he made from crypto efforts in 2025) have given opposition Democrats ammunition to push back on Clarity.

"His issuance of cryptocurrency as a means to make billions of dollars off of both bilking his supporters into buying a worthless token, but also providing a hidden avenue for mass scale bribery of the White House is the biggest corruption racket in the history of this country," Murphy said.

Trump's crypto riches loom over Clarity Act talks to ban conflicts for U.S. officials

Clarity Act

Regulation

Donald Trump

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