Crypto bills stall amid GOP infighting, leaving House in limbo
A procedural vote to advance the three crypto measures — meant to run for just five minutes — remained open more than three hours later as lawmakers from across the GOP's ideological spectrum shuffled in and out of meetings with leadership to discuss the stalled legislation.
As of publication, seven Republicans had voted 'no' on clearing the procedural hurdle, including Reps. Lauren Boebert (Colo.), Tim Burchett (Tenn.), Michael Cloud (Texas), Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.), Scott Perry (Pa.), Chip Roy (Texas) and Keith Self (Texas) — enough to sink the vote in the GOP's narrow majority.
Lawmakers had appeared poised to approve a series of procedural votes for the bills on Wednesday, after President Trump announced a deal Tuesday night with a contingent of Republican hardliners who torpedoed a vote earlier in the day.
The situation, however, quickly descended into disarray on Wednesday, as Trump's deal failed to appease the entire hardline group, while seemingly alienating key leaders on the House Financial Services Committee.
Three hardliners — Reps. Chip Roy (Texas), Keith Self (Texas) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.) — initially cast 'no' votes on an early procedural motion before switching to 'yes' and allowing the measure to pass.
Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), the chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, announced in a post on X during the vote that the House Freedom Caucus would back the rule after reaching an agreement with the president.
'Under this agreement, the Rules Committee will reconvene later today to add clear, strong anti–Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) provisions to the CLARITY legislation,' Harris said, referring to a bill laying out regulatory rules for the crypto industry.
'This is an important step to ensure Americans are protected from government overreach into their financial privacy,' he added. 'We remain committed to securing these critical protections in the final legislation and ensuring they are preserved as the bill moves through the Senate and into law.'
Leadership appeared to put that plan in motion on Wednesday, alerting a 4 p.m. meeting for the House Rules Committee. Just after 4 p.m., however, that gathering was canceled.
Drama continued in the next vote — the final procedural hurdle before a final vote — when Roy and Greene once again cast 'no' votes. Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.), vice chair of the House Financial Services Committee, also initially voted against the measure.
Johnson huddled with members in his office off the House floor, after which Huizenga switched his vote to 'yes,' while five other hardliners joined Roy and Greene and changed their votes to 'no.'
Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) appeared optimistic about the legislation's prospects Wednesday afternoon, suggesting there was 'a lot of progress.'
'People in good faith are trying to get to 'yes,'' he told reporters. 'They're trying to figure out what is the right way to put the deal together. I think most everybody in that room has a high level of confidence that we're going to get the votes that we need to get this done shortly.'
A source familiar said lawmakers are considering adding a crypto provision to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) or the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).
Republicans were hopeful that they could pass the three crypto bills by Thursday as they celebrate 'Crypto Week,' but the revolt by 12 hardline conservatives on Tuesday — and ensuing drama on Wednesday — stopped that effort in its tracks, bringing the chamber to a screeching halt.
Republicans must adopt a rule to begin debate and tee up a final vote on the crypto bills. Rule votes are typically routine, party-line affairs, with members of the majority party voting in favor and those in the minority party voting in opposition. In recent years, however, some members in the majority have used the votes as a way to showcase opposition to leadership or legislation.
The latest drama leaves the GENIUS Act, a bill setting up a regulatory framework for dollar-backed digital tokens called stablecoins, in limbo. If it can clear the House the bill is poised to head to Trump's desk, where the president has indicated he is eager to sign the measure into law.
The two other crypto bills up for consideration — the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act and the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act — have yet to pass the Senate and face a much more uncertain future.
This has been central to opposition from the hardline GOP contingent. They argue the GENIUS Act could pave the way for a central bank digital currency (CBDC) because it does not include any explicit provisions blocking such a development.
While the anti-CBDC bill would bar the Federal Reserve from issuing a CBDC, it appears unlikely to receive enough support to clear the Senate and become law.
The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, sometimes referred to simply as the CLARITY Act, faces a similarly questionable path in the upper chamber, where senators are preparing to release their own version of crypto market structure legislation.
Crypto market structure legislation seeks to provide regulatory clarity for the industry by dividing up oversight between two financial regulators — the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Stablecoin and market structure legislation, long sought by the crypto industry, has become a key priority for President Trump and GOP leaders. After initially promising to get both bills across the finish line before Congress leaves for its August recess, they have since settled for passing only the GENIUS Act by the end of the month.
The White House and key senators have said they're now hoping to wrap up market structure legislation by the end of September.
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