CLARITY Act Likely Pushed Into Lame-Duck After House GOP Cuts Fall Schedule

House Republicans have sharply reduced the time left before the midterm elections to advance the CLARITY Act, dimming prospects for passage this year despite intensifying pressure from the White House, regulators and GOP leadership. House Republican leaders scrapped planned voting weeks for Sept. 21 and Sept. 28, moving the chamber's departure for the campaign stretch to Sept. 17 from Oct. 1. The House is set to return Sept. 14 for four voting days before leaving Washington until after the November midterms. That compressed timeline immediately complicates the crypto market structure bill. The Senate's first major procedural vote is slated for Sept. 15, just two days before the House departs. Galaxy Digital head of research Alex Thorn said the shift makes passage before the midterms "extremely unlikely." The Senate still has about three weeks of session time running into early October. Any bill it passes would ultimately need to align with the House-approved version before it could go to President Donald Trump. The House passed CLARITY 294134 in July 2025, and the Senate has been working on amended language, meaning a Senate win alone may not be enough. Punchbowl News reporter Brendan Pedersen said senators might be able to clear the required procedural steps in roughly a week and a half if the process runs smoothly, depending on amendments. Before the schedule change, the House still had enough runway to take up a Senate bill quickly. That late-September cushion is now gone. The calendar squeeze comes as calls for action grow louder. Trump urged Congress last week to pass "a fair version of the Clarity Act," and SEC Chair Paul Atkins has said legislation remains "indispensable" even as the commission develops its own crypto rules. House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill also pressed the Senate to move, highlighting that 78 Democrats joined Republicans when the House passed the bill. In a post on X, he asked: "Can Democrats work with Republicans and make sure America leads the world in distributed ledger technology and financial services?" Sen. Cynthia Lummis has warned the legislative window is closing. When she released updated CLARITY text in July, she said the coming weeks could be the "last real chance" for years to complete market structure legislation. Prediction markets remain doubtful. Polymarket traders put the odds of CLARITY becoming law by Dec. 31 at under 20%. Still, the calendar changes do not necessarily end the bill's chances. Lauren Belive, Ripple's head of policy, said major negotiated legislation has often moved during post-election lame-duck sessions, even after elections that shifted control of Congress. That scenario would put near-term pressure on the Senate: if senators can produce a broadly settled bipartisan bill before Election Day, the House could still consider it in a lame-duck session. That path carries political risk. One or both chambers could change hands in November, potentially reshaping lawmakers' incentives when they return to vote. For now, the Sept. 15 Senate vote is the first key test. CLARITY may still reach Trump's desk in 2026, but the House's shortened calendar has made enactment before the midterms far harder. The post CLARITY Act may be heading for lame duck after House Republicans slash the calendar appeared first on CryptoSlate.