Tim Scott describes the first year of banking victories in the Senate and reveals the timeline for the CLARITY Act
Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., told Fox News Digital that President Donald Trump “wants to make sure the average American lives better than they did under President Biden.”
FIRST ON FOX: Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott, R-S.C., outlined the work the GOP-led committee has accomplished over the past year and revealed priorities on the horizon for 2026 during an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital.
Scott was quick to praise President Donald Trump, the South Carolina senator’s former primary opponent, for his role in carrying the Republican banking leader’s goals across the finish line.
“I think one of the best decisions voters have ever made in my lifetime was electing President Trump as our 47th president,” Scott told Fox News Digital. “As a result, affordability became a clear priority because President Trump wanted to ensure that the average American lived better than under President Biden.”
“Under President Biden, we saw a loss of purchasing power of $1,075 per month. Under President Trump, we saw that money come back into their pockets,” Scott added.
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Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., thanks President Donald Trump for steering the Senate Banking Committee’s progress on affordability, housing, crypto policy and cracking down on political debanking. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images/Getty Images)
Although the committee has achieved goals like passing the landmark pro-crypto GENIUS Act and working with the Trump administration to stop banks from taking away Americans’ accounts for political reasons, Scott says there is still much work to be done to support the economy and particularly on housing costs.
“Today [the age of a first-time home buyer] is 40, that’s too high,” Scott told Fox News Digital. “And President Trump has made it very clear: homeownership is key to his agenda. Our ROAD to housing program will reduce the age of first-time buyers. This will provide more housing across the country and encourage local jurisdictions to do so with more resources. »
Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., has served as Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee since January 2024. (ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
One of the main issues the administration and Scott set out to address was the controversial debanking policy that allowed major financial institutions to close the bank accounts of American individuals, posing a “reputational risk” to their respective companies.
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Melania Trump said in her memoir that the Trump family itself suffered a bank withdrawal after their account was closed and that she and the president’s son, Barron, were unable to obtain an account at the same institution.
In August, Trump signed an executive order aimed at cracking down on regulators and banks that engaged in bank withdrawals for political reasons. Scott applauded the move and noted that his legislation, the FIRM Act, aims to codify and prevent bank account closures for political reasons in the future.
Crypto regulation has been a priority of Scott’s committee. (Photo illustration by Chesnot/Getty Images / Getty Images)
“We saw the OCC, the Fed and the FDIC removed from their strategy, the reputational risk, because too many people in the cryptocurrency world and conservatives across the country were being punished because of President Biden’s approach, picking winners and losers,” Scott told Fox News Digital.
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When it comes to the crypto sector, industry executives praised the Trump administration and Scott for their commitment to making America the “crypto capital of the world.” The President signed the GENIUS Act into law, marking the first step in regulating digital currencies.
“You’re celebrating the success of the GENIUS Act because of President Trump’s leadership,” Scott explained. “We were able to get a bipartisan bill out of the Senate Banking Committee, out of the Senate, and into law.”
President Donald Trump speaks before signing the GENIUS Act at the White House in Washington, DC, July 18, 2025. (Allison Robbert/For the Washington Post / Getty Images)
“And the GENIUS Act will allow us to see stablecoins readily available throughout our economy, lowering price levels and creating greater access for hardworking Americans,” Scott added.
As for the future of crypto, the head of the Senate Banking Committee maintained his commitment to passing the highly anticipated Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, also known as the CLARITY Act, through the Senate “hopefully before the end of the year.” Although the bill has passed the House, it remains stuck in the Upper House.
Scott blamed Democrats for the delay.
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“What we’re waiting for is the rest of the Democrats to come to the table so we can have a bipartisan vote on market structure,” Scott told Fox News Digital. “Right now, I sometimes feel like some of my Democratic friends are trying to pull coal on the American people when it comes to crypto.”
“What we’re not going to do is allow that to happen,” Scott added. “We think everyone has been nice, not mean.”
