More cryptocurrency drama is unfolding on the House floor Wednesday, 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.
Members of the two committees fear combining the bills could doom their carefully crafted market structure bill in the Senate. Among those who have yet to vote on the rule and are huddling with Johnson are Agriculture Chair G.T. Thompson (R-Pa.) and Financial Services Chair French Hill (R-Ark.).
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.
