Though she’s been on the sidelines of the negotiations, Senator Elizabeth Warren, the Senate Banking Committee’s top Democrat, told reporters on Tuesday that the legislation pushed over the weekend by Republicans “was not negotiated with the Democrats.”
“It was between the Republicans and White House, and the changes were nonsense,” said Warren, who has been a steady critic of the legislation and of the industry behind it. “In each case, they put in some new words that pretended to solve the problem, and then just either left the problem intact or expanded it later on.”
Washington policy analysts were affixing long odds on the voting process Tuesday.
“With Democrats largely skeptical of the GOP’s latest offer, it’s unlikely they will provide the necessary votes to advance the bill later today, barring significant changes,” Beacon Policy Advisors wrote in a client note. “While the party could hypothetically vote to advance the bill to continue negotiations — reserving the ability to vote it down if things move further in their direction this month — we think that pathway is narrow.”
Some hours remain before the 2:15 p.m. planned vote, and such legislative negotiations have been known to strike deals in the final seconds. But some industry insiders are unsure whether the talks can be salvaged, and leaders like Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong have spent recent days arguing that a failed bill won’t halt regulatory progress.
