More cryptocurrency drama is unfolding on the House floor, a day after conservative hard-liners foiled GOP leaders’ plans to advance a trio of regulatory bills. The hard-liners climbed back aboard following a Tuesday night meeting with President Donald Trump and a last-minute negotiation Wednesday with House leaders that allowed the chamber to take an initial procedural step on the legislation. But the deal they cut — to merge the market-structure-focused CLARITY Act with a separate bill banning a central bank digital currency — has sparked backlash from members of the committees that crafted the legislation.
Speaker Mike Johnson is now huddling with members of the Financial Services and Agriculture panels, as well, as the conservative holdouts, in Johnson’s ceremonial office off the House floor as a vote on the rule setting up debate on the legislation remains open. Two people in the room granted anonymity to describe the talks said there is a standoff between hard-liners who want to guarantee passage of the CBDC ban and committee members who believe attaching it to the CLARITY Act will simply doom both bills. Instead the parties are exploring a deal to add the CBDC provision to another must-pass bill, such as the annual defense authorization or the renewal of foreign surveillance powers.
More than a dozen Republicans have yet to vote on the rule. They include Agriculture Chair G.T. Thompson (R-Pa.) and Financial Services Chair French Hill (R-Ark.); both are huddling with Johnson. Majority Leader Steve Scalise confirmed leaders planned to combine the bills after they are voted on; a 4 p.m. Rules Committee hearing has been announced to start that process.