Former U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper has urged Congress to view the CLARITY Act as a national security measure, arguing in a Financial Times op-ed that every day the United States delays crypto market rules gives China and sanctioned networks an advantage. Esper, who served as U.S. Secretary of Defense from 2019 to 2020 and now sits on Coinbase’s Global Advisory Council, said the dollar and the payment systems that support it have long underpinned U.S. economic power. He warned that digital-asset activity moving to offshore venues with looser rules could reduce Washington’s sanctions visibility and allow rivals to shape global financial standards. The Senate is scheduled to hold a cloture vote (a procedure to end debate) on H.R. 3633 on September 15, its first meaningful test of whether the bill can secure the 60 votes required to advance. The House passed the bill 294–134 in July 2025, while Senate Banking advanced it 15–9 in May 2026, with two Democrats supporting it. Republicans cannot reach the cloture threshold alone. Remaining disputes include ethics restrictions on officials’ crypto holdings, bank lobbying over stablecoin yield rules, and gaps in illicit-finance provisions. Galaxy Research has cut its 2026 passage odds to 10% amid Senate delays and bank lobbying, warning that failure to secure a clean procedural victory could leave the industry in a regulatory patchwork until at least 2027. A statutory CLARITY framework would be more durable for investors than agency-by-agency rules, which could face reversal risk after the midterms. The September 15 vote has become the most closely watched date in crypto policy, with uncertainty already weighing on Circle’s share price.