Politics
NEW: Top Official Departs Trump Administration
Patrick Witt’s temporary White House assignment has ended, leaving a vacancy atop President Donald Trump’s crypto policy team with major digital asset legislation stalled ahead of the November midterms.
The White House confirmed Oct. 14 that Witt’s assignment as executive director of the White House Crypto Council had expired, according to reporter Eleanor Terrett. No successor was announced.
Witt helped guide negotiations on the CLARITY Act, which would establish a federal framework for digital asset markets. The House passed its version in July 2025, but Senate talks bogged down over stablecoin rewards and proposed safeguards addressing presidential conflicts of interest.
The legislation failed to clear a Senate procedural vote in September, leaving its prospects uncertain. That vote concerned advancing the bill, not final passage.
Witt had been temporarily assigned to the White House from the Department of Defense. He originally planned to leave in July for mandatory Georgia Army National Guard training, but the training was postponed.
The White House attributed his departure to the expiration of that assignment. Its explanation did not indicate that he had been dismissed or that the administration was changing its crypto policy.
His exit follows two other departures from the administration’s senior crypto team this year.
David Sacks left his role as the White House’s AI and crypto czar in March after reaching the service limit for special government employees. Deputy Director Harry Jung departed in July.
With Witt’s assignment now over, the White House has not publicly identified who will take over his work coordinating the administration’s crypto legislative efforts.
