Lummis Blames Democrats as Crypto AML Bill Sits Stuck in Senate

Sen. Cynthia Lummis has a bone to pick with Democrats, and it's about who polices crypto's dirty-money problem. The Wyoming Republican says the stalled CLARITY Act would force digital asset firms to meet U.S. anti-money-laundering requirements — and she's pointing at the other side of the aisle for the holdup.

The bill is meant to hand crypto a federal rulebook, including how companies comply with anti-money-laundering laws. Lummis argues the framework would make sure those rules actually bite for crypto businesses operating in the States. Without it, she says, the enforcement picture stays murky.

The House didn't dawdle. Lawmakers passed the measure 294-134 on July 17, 2025, with 78 Democrats crossing over to back it. That lopsided tally looked like momentum.

The Senate had other ideas. On Sept. 15, 2026, senators rejected cloture on a motion to proceed by a 49-50 margin, with one senator not voting. That vote was about whether to even take up the bill — not about whether lawmakers liked what was inside it. Still, the result leaves the legislation parked in the Senate.

So the CLARITY Act sits in procedural limbo, and Lummis' complaint lands at a moment when crypto firms still face a patchwork of state and federal expectations. For now, the federal framework she wants remains a proposal, not a rule.

What happens next depends on whether the Senate can find the votes to move the bill forward. Until then, the anti-money-laundering standards Lummis says the industry needs stay on the drawing board.