John Thune shuts down hopes for CLARITY Act vote before recess

Senate Majority Leader John Thune has ruled out passage of the CLARITY Act before the August recess, as Polymarket traders cut its chance of becoming law in 2026 to 33%. Summary John Thune has ruled out CLARITY Act passage before the Senate’s August recess. Ron Hammond says election politics is drowning out the bill’s bipartisan support. Polymarket traders now give the CLARITY Act a 33% chance of passage in 2026. Fortune reported on July 24 that Thune does not expect the Senate to approve the crypto market structure bill before lawmakers leave Washington, removing a deadline that industry supporters had viewed as critical to its passage this year. Attention has now moved to the short period after the November midterm elections, when Congress will return with government funding measures, defense legislation and other unfinished business competing for floor time. Ron Hammond, head of policy and advocacy at Wintermute, told Fortune that the bill still has enough bipartisan support but has become caught in election-year disputes. Hammond argued that political messaging, rather than an absence of Senate votes, has become the immediate problem. With Democrats preparing to campaign agains...