White House crypto advisor Patrick Witt vows aggressive rulemaking if Clarity Act fails

Patrick Witt, the executive director of the President’s Council of Advisors for Digital Assets, has laid out a clear ultimatum for Congress: pass the Clarity Act, or watch the SEC and CFTC take matters into their own hands.

In a recent interview, Witt said the administration is prepared to pursue an “aggressive rulemaking agenda” through existing agency authority if the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025 fails to clear the Senate.

The Clarity Act, explained

The legislation in question, formally known as H.R. 3633, attempts to draw a line between what the SEC oversees and what falls under the CFTC’s jurisdiction. The bill’s core framework would hand oversight of digital commodities to the CFTC while preserving the SEC’s authority over investment contracts.

Beyond jurisdictional boundaries, the act tackles stablecoin yields, anti-money laundering provisions, and enforcement tools. Witt has described the package as “pro-regulatory, pro-enforcement.”

The bill already passed the House and advanced through the Senate Banking Committee. The Senate returned from its August recess in September 2026 with a packed calendar and limited floor time before the next break, making the window for action uncomfortably narrow.

Why the Senate is stuck

Senate negotiations have hit friction on multiple fronts. Ethics language remains a sticking point, as lawmakers debate how stringent conflict-of-interest provisions should be for officials and their families who hold digital assets. Stablecoin regulations are another area of contention, with disagreements over how much latitude issuers should receive.

Witt has positioned himself as cautiously optimistic about reaching an agreement. A key cloture vote, the procedural step needed to advance the bill past potential filibusters, is anticipated by mid-September 2026. If that vote fails, the Clarity Act could effectively be dead for this congressional session.

Plan B: regulation by rulemaking

Witt’s backup plan involves the SEC and CFTC using their existing statutory authority to write rules governing digital assets without waiting for Congress to act.

Witt’s background offers some clues about how this might play out. Before joining the White House in 2025, he served in the Defense Department. Leading negotiations on the Clarity Act has given him a front-row seat to the compromises embedded in the legislation, compromises that an agency rulemaking process might not feel obligated to replicate.

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