The three landmark Republican-led US crypto bills are stuck in limbo after failing a second procedural vote that would have advanced them to a full floor vote in the House of Representatives. The GENIUS, CLARITY, and Anti-CBDC Acts were expected to pass both the House and Senate without any complications and potentially be signed into law by President Donald Trump, who fully supports them, before the end of the week.
On Wednesday, lawmakers voted 215 to 211 to move forward and later take a vote on the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act (GENIUS), the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act (CLARITY), and the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act.
The GENIUS Act aims to create a robust regulatory framework for dollar-backed stablecoins, the CLARITY Act would provide a clear designation for the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to regulate crypto assets, and the Anti-CBDC bill looks to restrict the Federal Reserve from issuing a digital dollar directly to consumers.
House Freedom Caucus Members Vote Against U.S. Crypto Bills, Demands Ban on Fed-Issued Digital Dollar
The three bills, which received zero support from House Democrats, had failed an earlier procedural vote on Tuesday after twelve Republicans, including Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene, Chip Roy, Anna Paulina Luna, Andy Biggs, and Michael Cloud, voted against it. These lawmakers, who are also members of the House Freedom Caucus, demanded a total CBDC ban, leading to the legislation falling short of the majority support needed to pass and preventing the chamber from further debates for the day.
Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters after the vote that the handline critics wanted to merge the GENIUS, CLARITY, and Anti-CBDC Acts into a single product. House Majority Leader Rep. Steve Scalise, who was one of the naysayers, moved to allow the chamber to consider the procedural rule once an agreement has been reached with the Republicans.
Following this fiasco, President Trump said in a Truth Social post that he met with 11 of the 12 representatives in the Oval Office and convinced them to vote in favor of the legislation. Trump is eager to get the bills passed before Congress goes on a month-long break in August.
Some of the Republicans who voted against the GENIUS Act took to X and clarified that they were not against the crypto legislation but did not want to pass it unless it included specific language that ensured a CBDC ban.
Rep. Greene said she voted “NO” because Speaker Johnson did not allow the group to submit amendments to the GENIUS Act. She wrote in an X post that Americans do not want a “government-controlled” central bank digital currency, and Republicans must keep the promise because Trump included the ban in his January 23rd executive order, and Congress must consider it in the GENIUS Act.
Rep. Biggs raised concerns over the GENIUS Act’s proposed framework for a layered CBDC and that the bill doesn’t guarantee crypto self-custody. He urged the House leadership to allow an open amendment process so members can freely debate and improve the bill.
Rep. Andy Harris posted on X that members of the House Freedom Caucus, which he chairs, reached an agreement with the President to support the bill during Wednesday’s voting, and the House Rules Committee would reconvene to add “clear, strong” anti-CBDC provisions to the CLARITY Act.
House Freedom Caucus Members reached an agreement tonight to advance the President’s cryptocurrency agenda and, as part of this agreement, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) will include strong anti–Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) protections in this must-pass…
— Rep. Andy Harris, MD (@RepAndyHarrisMD) July 17, 2025
“This is an important step to ensure Americans are protected from government overreach into their financial privacy,” Harris said.
Ahead of the second procedural vote, Greene wrote in an X post that the only way to guarantee a ban on a central bank digital currency is through law. She reiterated that the GENIUS Act does not ban CBDC or maintain people’s chain of custody.
GENIUS and CLARITY Acts Fail Second House Procedural Vote as Lawmakers Debate Anti-CBDC Provisions
When House lawmakers returned on Wednesday, they passed the motion to reconsider the Freedom Caucus’ proposed amendment, but had yet to agree to the resolution. However, just hours after the first round of procedural votes to move forward the crypto legislation, it stalled again for the second time as five Republicans voted against the resolution. According to reports, a vote on the bills remains open on the House floor as key lawmakers are discussing the next steps.
People familiar with the matter are calling the situation that has unfolded a “total mess” and not what they had expected during the Crypto Week. There remains a possibility that Trump could push for the GENIUS draft to be on his desk by Sunday, but Representatives Greene and Roy are adamant about including anti-CBDC language in the bill, despite voting yes for the first procedural vote on Wednesday.
There is some truth to the matter, as the Federal Reserve has been exploring the possibility of issuing a CBDC and published a report in 2022 that examined the pros and cons of a digital dollar. However, Fed officials like Governor Michelle Bowman have thrown cold water on the idea, stating that the central bank has yet to see a compelling argument for a US CBDC, and dollar-backed stablecoins could be the solution. Fed chairman Jerome Powell also maintained that the central bank won’t issue a digital dollar without congressional approval.
Meanwhile, House Democrats continue to push against all three bills, calling the lack of amendments to address Trump’s crypto ventures a “conflict of interest”. Top Democrat of the House Financial Services Committee, Rep. Maxine Waters, said the CLARITY and GENIUS Acts are two of the most dangerous pieces of legislation, claiming they are a “gift-wrapped invitation” for the President to continue his “full-scale crypto con”.
Lawmakers continue to work on finalizing a deal and getting enough votes to pass all three bills through the Republican-led House before moving them to the Senate. While the Senate has already passed the GENIUS Act, it still needs to vote on the CLARITY and Anti-CBDC bills, after which, they will be sent to the Oval Office to be signed into law by the President.
