Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper is urging the Senate to pass the CLARITY Act, framing U.S. digital asset rules as a national security matter rather than a purely financial one. The Senate has scheduled a procedural vote on the bill for Sept. 15, while Senator Elizabeth Warren and the National Sheriffs' Association dispute whether the legislation actually strengthens security.
Esper has urged the Senate to pass the CLARITY Act, arguing in a Financial Times op-ed that digital asset market structure is a national security issue, not just a financial regulatory one. His intervention lands just as the Senate sets up the bill's next procedural step.
Esper frames the bill as a security issue
He contends that China is building payment infrastructure outside U.S. oversight while North Korean cyber actors continue exploiting digital assets. According to Esper: "It is also a national security bill" — a framing he applied to the CLARITY Act now before the Senate.
The former defense secretary also pointed to North Korea's Lazarus Group, a state-sponsored hacking operation U.S. Treasury records have linked to the roughly $620 million Ronin bridge attack. He argued Chinese payment alternatives could weaken U.S. financial leverage, though that assessment remains his own geopolitical judgment. Coinbase has listed Esper on its Global Advisory Council since 2023, a detail relevant to weighing his advocacy.
Bill would give Treasury new tools
The Senate's July 22 merged text gives part of Esper's argument a legislative basis. Section 10303 would amend the statute implementing the USA PATRIOT Act's Section 311, adding a special measure for digital asset transfers found to pose a money laundering risk. That authority would extend to transfers connected to money laundering tied to foreign jurisdictions or financial institutions.
That 616-page draft also includes a dedicated illicit-finance title, studies of foreign adversary activity and international law-enforcement cooperation provisions. Senate Banking Chairman Tim Scott has likewise argued the bill would make it harder for criminals and foreign adversaries to exploit the financial system.
Warren and sheriffs dispute the security case
The national security framing remains contested. At a May Senate Banking markup, Senator Elizabeth Warren argued the then-current draft could increase national security risks, citing gaps in DeFi and illicit-finance enforcement along with protections for noncontrolling software developers.
A May letter from the National Sheriffs' Association raised related concerns, warning the earlier proposal could restrict law enforcement's ability to pursue illicit transfers involving mixers and decentralized systems. The July text, however, added and reorganized several law-enforcement and illicit-finance provisions, so the sheriffs' letter addressed an earlier version of the bill.
Sept. 15 sets up the next test
The House passed the CLARITY Act 294 to 134 in July 2025. The Senate Banking Committee then advanced its version 15 to 9 in May 2026.
Majority Leader John Thune filed cloture on the motion to proceed before the Senate's August recess, setting up a procedural vote for 2:15 p.m. ET on Sept. 15, one day after senators return. A yes vote would only advance debate, not enact the bill.
Grayscale research head Zach Pandl said passage in 2026 now appears unlikely given the compressed Senate calendar and election-year politics, an assessment rather than a settled outcome.
Source: crypto.news
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