US Democratic Senator slams ethics provisions of Republican CLARITY Act, calling the draft "not in good faith"

According to Politico, U.S. Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego has criticized the ethics provisions of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (CLARITY Act) recently tabled by Senate Republicans, dismissing the draft as "not a serious effort." This Wednesday, Senate Republicans unveiled the CLARITY Act draft, which includes digital asset ethics restrictions that would ban all U.S. federal officials—including former President Donald Trump—from issuing or supporting any digital assets. Democrats argue the ethics provisions are insufficiently robust. Gallego said he will collaborate with Republican Senator Thom Tillis and others to put forward a new counter-proposal. "We are still in this fight and will submit new provisions," Gallego stated. Republicans, for their part, counter that the relevant ethics rules are already strict enough. Senator Bernie Moreno claimed the draft contains "the strongest ethics provisions in U.S. history." The CLARITY Act is designed to clarify the regulatory framework for the U.S. digital asset market, but its provisions addressing conflicts of interest between government officials and crypto assets have emerged as the main point of contention in bipartisan negotiations.