White House Crypto Chief Patrick Witt Takes Military Leave as CLARITY Act Nears Senate Vote

The administration’s lead crypto negotiator will report for Army National Guard training on July 27, handing the bill’s final push to his deputy at a critical moment.

Patrick Witt, the executive director of the White House crypto council and the administration’s chief negotiator on the CLARITY Act, will begin a months-long military leave later this month, according to Crypto in America. His exit arrives just as the Senate races to move the crypto market structure bill before its August recess.

Witt, 37, is expected to finish his White House work Friday before reporting on July 27 to the Georgia Army National Guard’s Judge Advocate General program, which trains military attorneys, Crypto in America reported Tuesday. He spent two years at the Defense Department before taking over the crypto council last August, when Bo Hines left the post to join stablecoin issuer Tether.

The exit was long in the making: Witt put in for the JAG program last spring, then deferred his April start to stay at the table as CLARITY talks dragged on, according to Crypto in America. The Army would not let him defer a second time.

Big Shoes to Fill

Witt led months of talks over the bill’s most contested provisions, including a compromise on stablecoin yield that had split banks and the crypto industry, partisan disputes over ethics language, and concerns from law enforcement groups worried the measure could hamper investigations. Beyond the CLARITY Act, Witt has directed the rollout of the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and the GENIUS Act, the stablecoin law enacted last July.

Deputy director Harry Jung is expected to absorb Witt’s duties. The White House is projecting continuity because Jung sat in on many of the same negotiations, though it remains unclear whether Witt returns to the role full time, Crypto in America reported. He intends to stay involved during training as much as the schedule allows, according to the report.

Make or Break Moment

The handoff comes as the Clarity Act, which cleared the Senate Banking Committee in a 15-9 vote in May, is widely believed to have roughly three weeks left to be passed this year as the August recess and November midterms approach.

The Clarity Act requires 60 votes, including at least seven Democrats, to be passed in the Senate. However, an unresolved fight on ethics language addressing President Donald Trump’s crypto business interests threatens this vote. The situation has only been complicated by a recent financial disclosure that put his crypto-venture income above $1.4 billion for the year. Senator Elizabeth Warren has pressed Senate leaders to bar officials and their families from profiting off the sector.

Should Clarity manage to scale the Senate, it still has to be sent to the House and Trump.

Related Listen: Coinbase’s Chief Policy Officer on Why He Believes the Clarity Act Will Pass