WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Susan Collins voted against advancing a major cryptocurrency regulation bill Tuesday, breaking with President Donald Trump and Republicans while joining all Senate Democrats to block the measure on a procedural vote.
The 50-49 tally against advancing the bill known as the Clarity Act fell 11 votes short of the 60 needed, dealing a defeat to an industry-backed push for a uniform regulatory framework just two months before the midterm elections.
Collins was one of only four Republicans to vote no. She was joined by fellow Mainer Sen. Angus King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats. Collins had signaled her hesitation a day earlier. In comments to Punchbowl News on Monday, she called the bill a “moving target” and indicated concerns about community bank deposits.
Democrats withheld their votes over concerns that the bill lacked sufficient safeguards against Trump and his family profiting from the crypto industry while he is in office. Trump reported more than $1.4 billion in crypto business revenue last year, including over $500 million tied to World Liberty Financial, a firm his family controls.
Congress should not””pass a crypto bill that will let Donald Trump continue to rake in billions of dollars in crypto profits” while other Americans struggle with higher costs, said Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee.
Trump agreed to concessions as the vote neared, including new limits on federal officials issuing digital assets like the meme coins he and first lady Melania Trump launched before his second term began. Democrats countered late Monday seeking broader ethics language, including a requirement that Trump or any future president divest holdings above a set threshold. No deal was reached.
Republicans “should have worked more closely with Senate Democrats to craft a bill that could pass with strong ethics provisions” instead of trying to appease Trump, said Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Arizona, who took part in the last-minute talks.
Sens. Josh Hawley of Missouri and Jerry Moran of Kansas, also Republicans, voted no as well. So did Sen. Thom Tillis, R-North Carolina, who had worked with Gallego on the ethics language and said beforehand he was encouraged by Trump’s latest offer.
“We’re so close,” Tillis said. “It’s just a shame to not take this opportunity.”
The White House said it would now push its crypto agenda through federal agencies instead, with adviser Patrick Witt warning the failure raises the risk that future global crypto standards get set in Brussels or Beijing rather than Washington.
With the House and Senate both out of session in October ahead of the elections, the bill’s path forward is uncertain. The landscape would shift further if Democrats retake either chamber, or both, in November. Collins is in one of the year’s biggest race against former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson.
Story by Mary Clare Jalonick. BDN writer Michael Shepherd and Associated Press writers Seung Min Kim and Joey Cappelletti contributed to this report.