Garlinghouse Backs Bessent’s CLARITY Act Case Ahead of Senate Vote

Garlinghouse Backs Bessent Ahead of Senate Vote

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pressed senators Sept. 14 to support the final CLARITY Act, arguing that the legislation would advance U.S. leadership in digital assets while giving Treasury new authority to protect community banks. His push came one day before senators are scheduled to decide whether to advance the digital asset market structure legislation.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse aligned himself with Bessent’s case for the legislation later Sept. 14, arguing that lawmakers made substantial compromises to reach the final version. Garlinghouse presented those concessions as a reason for senators to support the deal rather than hold out for a perfect bill.

“This bill isn’t just a compromise… It’s the product of real, substantive trades policymakers made to get here. I said this many months ago: perfect can’t be the enemy of good… and let’s be clear: those trades weren’t small,” Garlinghouse stated, adding:

“This isn’t a deal Senators should be ‘settling for’ — it’s a deal that they should stand behind.”

“Senate: the world is watching and voters are watching. Now is the time to vote yes,” the Ripple executive followed with a direct appeal to lawmakers.

His message builds on Garlinghouse’s earlier argument that the United States is close to achieving its goal of becoming a global crypto center. He said this month that the country’s crypto leadership goal is “within reach” as the CLARITY Act approached its Senate test.

Garlinghouse’s reference to substantive policy trades is reflected in the final CLARITY Act draft, which Republican senators said incorporates 126 substantive changes requested by Democrats. The revisions cover ethics enforcement, digital asset oversight, decentralized finance, banking provisions, developer protections, and other regulatory areas.

Bessent Points to New Community Bank Protection

Bessent’s case for the legislation centers partly on a provision designed to address concerns that payment stablecoins could pull deposits away from community banks. The final draft gives the Treasury secretary new authority intended to respond if deposit flight tied to payment stablecoins begins harming those institutions.

The Treasury secretary tied that authority directly to the administration’s effort to support digital asset development while protecting community banks, stating:

“The final draft of the CLARITY Act furthers this mission. It gives the Secretary of the Treasury additional authority to act if the facts around deposit flight change to the detriment of community banks. If stablecoins cause harm to community banks, I will not hesitate to use these tools to ensure they remain fully protected.”

He also argued that supporting digital finance and protecting community banks are compatible policy goals. He linked the CLARITY Act to the administration’s broader effort to keep digital asset infrastructure in the United States after Congress passed the GENIUS Act governing payment stablecoins. Payment stablecoins are crypto assets designed to maintain a relatively steady value, typically by tracking an external asset such as the U.S. dollar. Concerns about their effect on traditional deposits have become a major issue in negotiations over digital asset legislation.

Bessent had already urged senators to advance the CLARITY Act in a Sept. 9 appeal, presenting the legislation as important to U.S. technological leadership and national security. His Sept. 14 comments went further by detailing the Treasury authority he says could be used if stablecoin activity harms community banks.

Final Draft Heads Into Sept. 15 Senate Test

Senate Republicans said the final bill reflects negotiations extending beyond the banking dispute. They noted that the 126 revisions requested by Democrats also modify token classifications, issuer requirements, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) oversight, anti-money laundering provisions, developer safeguards, and ethics rules.

Ethics provisions became another central area of compromise before the vote. The final proposal expands restrictions involving federal officials’ digital asset interests and gives state attorneys general an enforcement role, changes Republican sponsors presented as concessions aimed at securing broader Senate support. U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) said, “President Trump voluntarily agreed to unprecedented ethics restrictions.”

The next step is procedural rather than final passage. The Senate schedule states that cloture on the motion to proceed to H.R. 3633, the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, will ripen at 2:15 p.m. Sept. 15. Approval would move the Senate toward formal consideration of the legislation rather than send the bill directly to the president.

Garlinghouse’s latest intervention places Ripple behind Bessent’s argument at that final procedural juncture: the negotiated bill contains significant concessions, and both are pressing senators to move it forward.