Senate crypto vote scheduled for September 15 as chamber adjourns summer session
The clearest item left on the table for digital-asset markets: Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., teed up a procedural vote on cryptocurrency regulation for September 15, after negotiators failed to bridge…
Key takeaways
- Senate Majority Leader John Thune scheduled a procedural vote on cryptocurrency regulation for September 15 after negotiators failed to reach a deal before the August recess.
- The September 15 crypto vote is a procedural step to allow debate and amendment, not a final passage vote.
- Before adjourning at 4:57 a.m. ET, the Senate confirmed Todd Blanche as the 88th Attorney General and passed a bipartisan interim spending bill expected to prevent an October government shutdown.
- The SAVE America Act, a narrow voter ID bill, and the Protect College Sports Act all failed to advance during the session.
- The Senate blocked Sen. Jon Husted's voter ID bill in a test vote, which Republican leadership used to put Democrats on record against voter ID ahead of a competitive Ohio race.
The clearest item left on the table for digital-asset markets: Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., teed up a procedural vote on cryptocurrency regulation for September 15, after negotiators failed to bridge differences before the August recess. Lawmakers adjourned at 4:57 a.m. ET, having confirmed Todd Blanche as the nation's 88th Attorney General and passed a bipartisan interim spending bill expected to prevent a government shutdown in October.
What actually passed
Two items cleared before the 4:57 a.m. gavel. Blanche is confirmed as the 88th Attorney General. The bipartisan interim spending bill passed and is expected to head off an October shutdown. Nothing else from the session's to-do list made it through.
The crypto bill and September 15
Thune's calendar move puts September 15 as the next date for digital-asset regulation. That date is a procedural vote, not a final passage vote. Procedural steps clear the way for debate and amendment; they do not guarantee a bill is ready to pass. The bill stalled because the policy gaps were too wide to close before the recess, and a September date does not resolve what killed it in August. Worth asking: what moves between now and then, and who is giving ground?
The rest of the agenda that didn't move
The SAVE America Act exited the session without a vote and still lacks sufficient support to pass. Republicans who pushed the Senate to cancel recess for the bill got no procedural action. Supporters are expected to treat the Senate's departure as an opening to apply pressure on holdouts.
The Senate did take a test vote on a narrow voter ID bill sponsored by Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio. The chamber blocked it. Republican leadership used the vote to put Democrats formally on record against voter ID, a move aimed at helping Husted against former Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, in a competitive fall race.
The Protect College Sports Act, co-authored by Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., the top Democrat on the panel, got no test vote. A Republican dispute over whether the bill adequately barred men from competing in women's sports stalled it, even after President Trump posted a full endorsement on Truth Social Friday night. "Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying," Trump wrote. Cruz said the bill would be "one of our first orders of business" when the Senate returns in September. No vote is officially on the Senate docket.
What to watch
September 15 is the procedural date for the crypto bill. The Protect College Sports Act is flagged for September without a confirmed slot. The SAVE America Act carries no announced timeline.
Related reading
Filed via foxnews.com