Senator Cynthia Lummis said the Senate could extend work into the weekend to vote on the CLARITY Act before the August recess, according to remarks made to Fox Business on August 3. The market structure bill requires 60 votes to pass the chamber, and floor time has not yet been formally scheduled.
The timeline shows mounting pressure to move the bill before lawmakers leave Washington. Passage odds have fallen sharply this year: a prediction market on the legislation priced 2026 passage at 23 percent as of early August, down from highs above 80 percent earlier in the year.
The CLARITY Act would establish the Commodity Futures Trading Commission as the primary regulator of spot digital asset markets and derivatives, displacing the Securities and Exchange Commission from direct oversight of most crypto trading. Lummis, a Wyoming Republican who has led crypto-friendly legislation in the Senate, has positioned the bill as necessary to bring regulatory clarity and prevent a fragmented patchwork of state rules.
Fifty senators have backed versions of the bill in the past. Reaching 60 votes requires support from at least 10 Democrats or the full Republican caucus minus seven defections, a narrow margin that has stalled passage through multiple congressional cycles. The bill faced similar deadlines and procedural hurdles in 2024 and earlier in 2026.
No senator has publicly withdrawn support, but floor time allocation remains at the discretion of Senate leadership. Majority Leader John Thune controls the schedule and has not committed floor time to a vote.
Lummis stated the Senate could work through the weekend. The 60-vote requirement stands as the binding constraint: even unanimous Republican support falls five votes short of passage without Democratic crossover.
