Trump urges Senate to pass CLARITY Act in honor of Lindsey Graham

Jul 13, 2026

President Donald Trump is urging the Senate to pass the CLARITY Act, a major crypto regulation bill, in honor of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham. The push faces Democratic opposition centered on adding ethics rules to bar officials like Trump, who has earned over $1.4B from crypto, from profiting from the industry. With a narrow GOP majority and a looming August recess, the bill's passage is uncertain.

Trump crypto wealth disclosure

▪President Trump's largest single income stream in 2025 was $636 million from issuing a memecoin that bore his name.
▪A 2025 financial disclosure revealed President Donald Trump had at least $1.4 billion in crypto-related income.

Clarity Act ethics provision

▪Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has proposed a provision that would ban elected officials from holding meme coins.
▪The proposed ethics rules would bar the president, vice president, senior officials, and their families from profiting from the crypto industry.
▪Senate Democrats are demanding the CLARITY Act include conflict-of-interest provisions before they will support it.

Senate legislative timeline

▪The Senate has until its August 7 recess to vote on the bill, creating a narrow legislative window.
▪The CLARITY Act needs 60 votes to pass the Senate, requiring support from at least seven Democrats.
▪Following Senator Lindsey Graham's death, the Republican's Senate majority narrowed to 52-47, with Senator Mitch McConnell also hospitalized.

Democratic opposition strategy

▪Several Senate Democrats, including Chris Murphy and Chris Van Hollen, planned a press conference to state their opposition to the CLARITY Act.
▪Senator Jeanne Shaheen suggested passing a Russia sanctions package would be a more fitting memorial to Lindsey Graham.

Trump legislative priorities

▪Trump claimed Graham was a "big supporter" of the legislation, though Graham was not on relevant committees and did not vote on the bill.
▪Trump's push for the CLARITY Act is an exception to his recent stance of not signing any bills until his voter ID legislation is advanced.
▪On July 13, 2026, President Donald Trump urged the Senate to pass the CLARITY Act "in honor of" the late Senator Lindsey Graham.
▪Trump framed the bill's passage as a competition against China in the crypto and artificial intelligence sectors.