White House adviser defends president amid legislative defeat

• White House adviser Patrick Witt defended President Donald Trump’s crypto ties after the Clarity Act stalled.
• Witt said Trump accepted two proposed ethics provisions during legislative negotiations.
• The setback has shifted attention towards federal regulators, including the Securities and Exchange Commission.

White House adviser Patrick Witt has defended President Donald Trump’s crypto ties after the Clarity Act failed in the Senate.

Witt blamed political opposition and banking lobbyists for helping stall the legislative framework.

“Democrats made it a political issue,” President’s Council of Advisors for Digital Assets Executive Director Patrick Witt said at the Financial Markets Quality Conference at Georgetown University.

Witt said Trump agreed to two proposed ethics provisions during negotiations over the legislation.

“The president agreed to not one but two different ethics provisions that were unprecedented in nature,” Witt said.

The proposed provisions could have required Trump to divest crypto interests or place them in a blind trust.

Witt also said banking lobbyists opposed the bill over competition concerns involving stablecoin rewards and bank deposits.

The stalled legislation leaves federal regulators as the immediate focus for digital asset policy.