Congress can still 'land this plane' on crypto bill as ethics talks stall, says Democratic Sen. Gallego

Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego, a key negotiator on the Clarity Act, says Congress can still "land this plane" as concerns grow over an unfinished ethics deal.

On Wednesday in Wyoming at the annual SALT conference, Gallego pointed to multiple versions of an ethics provision had been sent to President Donald Trump to no avail.

"We've been sending offers over and over again to the White House, and they've been coming back either blank, or they've come back even slightly further back, or we've heard nothing," Gallego said. 

An ethics agreement has been viewed as the final sticking point in getting landmark crypto legislation called the Clarity Act passed into law. Over the past year, concerns over Trump's expanding crypto holdings and business interests, which have grown to an income of millions of dollars, have loomed over negotiations.

In July, Trump agreed to an ethics provision that would block a public official or employee, as well as their spouses, from issuing or sponsoring digital assets. The language says that the Department of Justice would enforce the provision, not state attorneys general and includes a sunset provision ending in January 2029. That language sparked criticism from Democrats who said it fell short. 

Trump is now weighing the latest ethics proposal from Sens. Gallego, D-Ariz., and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., which includes language that would allow state attorneys general to enforce a provision that would prohibit public officials and their spouses from issuing or sponsoring digital assets.

At the end of the day, 60 votes are still needed to advance the Clarity Act out of the Senate, Gallego said.

"The way to get to 60 votes is good ethics legislation as well as rounding out some of the things that are still outstanding on the other side of this," Gallego said. Other issues include the treatment of stablecoin yield and concerns that the bill doesn't go far enough to combat illicit activity. 

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on ethics language progress. 

Next, Congress has just a few short weeks when they come back to Washington next month to advance the bill. Senate Majority Leader John Thune scheduled an initial procedural vote for Sept. 15. 

"There are certain elements of politics that would love not to land this plane to make this a political issue, both on the left and on the right," Gallego said. "There are those who want to govern and want to land this plane and continue making sure that we're innovating in this world."