Sen. Hawley votes against Clarity Act, cites community bank concerns

Senator Josh Hawley is breaking ranks with the majority of his party to vote against the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025, arguing the legislation doesn’t do enough to protect community banks from stablecoin-driven deposit flight. The CLARITY Act passed the House with a 294-to-134 vote and cleared the Senate Banking Committee 15-9 on May 14, 2026. Senate Majority Leader John Thune wants a floor vote before the August recess, but the bill needs 60 votes to clear a filibuster threshold. With only 53 Republicans in the chamber and Hawley peeling off, the math gets uncomfortable fast. The community bank problem Hawley’s core argument is straightforward: stablecoin reward programs could siphon deposits away from small-town banks. If a crypto platform offers customers any kind of yield for holding stablecoins, that starts looking an awful lot like a savings account, and depositors might move their money out of the local credit union and into a digital wallet. Community banking groups like the Independent Community Bankers of America have been sounding this alarm for months. Traditional banks make money partly by lending out deposits. Fewer deposits means less lending capacity, wh...