Major County Sheriffs Go Neutral on CLARITY Act as Senate Outlook Worsens

The Major County Sheriffs of America (MCSA) has withdrawn its opposition to the CLARITY Act and will now take a neutral position, citing talks with the Administration that it said brought added clarity to its main point of contention. MCSA represents sheriffs' offices in counties with populations of at least 500,000. The group had previously urged the Senate to oppose Section 604 of the bill—the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act—in a May 14 letter. Section 604 would exempt noncustodial developers from money-transmission rules as long as they do not take custody of customers' funds. Crypto industry advocates have backed the provision, while some law enforcement groups argued it could facilitate illicit activity. In its updated stance, MCSA said it looks forward to working with Congress and the Administration on potential improvements. The group also asked lawmakers to formalize a state and local role in the Treasury study required under Section 309, and requested training and technology support, arguing that local agencies handle most digital-asset crime cases. Separately, the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) has endorsed the CLARITY Act, becoming the first law enforcement organization to publicly support the measure. NOBLE said the bill would provide new tools for investigators and stressed that it "does not alter the longstanding federal criminal authorities that investigators and prosecutors rely upon every day." The shifting posture from law enforcement removes a key political obstacle for the legislation, easing concerns among some senators about institutional opposition. The bill still faces unresolved disputes, with ethics rules emerging as a central hurdle. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a leading Democratic supporter of the bill, has renewed calls for stronger restrictions aimed at preventing elected officials and their families from profiting from crypto. She has advocated banning officials and their sponsors from issuing or promoting crypto tokens, and said the prohibition should also cover memecoins. Gillibrand intensified her push following a Bloomberg report that said President Donald Trump made more than $1.2 billion from crypto in 2025. "This is a commonsense requirement that should get broad bipartisan support—public officials and their spouses should not be issuing meme coins," she said. With the August recess approaching and key issues still unsettled, analysts have grown more skeptical about the bill's prospects. Galaxy Digital researchers cut their odds of passage this year to 50%, citing the compressed timeline.