Senate Democrats, 3 Republicans, Block Lummis-Backed Crypto Bill

Moments before U.S. Senate Democrats and three Republicans sidelined one of Sen. Cynthia Lummis’s favorite bills, she urged the chamber to consider all the concessions she and other proponents have made to Democrats on cryptocurrency framework.

It wasn’t enough, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, said, listing the $1.4 billion President Donald Trump banked from crypto last year, and her doubts that the legislation could stave off political corruption and inside dealing. 

Senate Democrats stood together and three Republicans broke ranks to block the bill, 49-50, from advancing. The three GOP nays came from Sens. Josh Hawley (Missouri), Susan Collins (Maine), and Jerry Moran (Kansas). The bill needed 60 votes to advance.

Regulating and greenlighting cryptocurrency has been a long and dear project for Wyoming’s outgoing junior senator, who’s garnered the nickname “Crytpo queen” and backed a landmark crypto bill that became law last year. The GENIUS Act was the first federal regulatory framework for stablecoins.

“I have spent every single day of the past year fighting to get the CLARITY Act ready for prime time, because Wyoming did not send me to Washington to watch America fall behind,” Lummis told the Senate on Tuesday. “My state sent me here to make sure we lead. Today this body decides whether we keep that promise or sideline American leadership.”