According to CoinMeta, former U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper wrote an article in The Financial Times calling on the Senate to pass the CLARITY legislation as soon as possible, referring to it as a national security act. He pointed out that China is investing in payment systems to bypass U.S. regulations and weaken the status of the dollar, and loopholes in digital asset regulation also provide opportunities for Lazarus Group and others to evade financial controls. Mark Esper stated that the CLARITY legislation will expand the special measures authority that the Treasury Department has under Section 311 of the U.S. Patriot Act, serving as a weapon to combat malicious actors.