Patrick Witt, the White House’s top crypto adviser, will begin a months-long leave of absence this month to report for training with the Georgia Army National Guard, according to a report from Crypto in America. 

His departure arrives as the Senate works to advance the Clarity Act before its August recess.

Witt, 37, is expected to conclude his White House work next Friday before reporting on July 27 to the Guard’s Judge Advocate General (JAG) program. Completion of the training qualifies him to serve as a JAG officer, a military attorney who advises on military justice and operational and administrative law. Witt and the White House did not respond to Crypto in America’s requests for comment.

Witt took over as executive director of the White House crypto council last August, after Bo Hines left the post for a role at stablecoin issuer Tether. He spent two years at the Defense Department before the appointment. 

Sources told Crypto in America that Witt applied to the JAG program last spring and postponed an April start date to remain at the White House as Clarity Act talks stretched on. A second postponement was not an option.

Witt’s absence and the current Clarity Act status

The timing carries weight for the Clarity Act, the crypto industry’s market structure bill, which would divide oversight of digital assets between the SEC and the CFTC. The measure cleared the House in July 2025 by a 294-134 vote and advanced from the Senate Banking Committee in May by a 15-9 margin. 

Senate leaders aim to open floor debate before Congress breaks on August 7, a window many policy observers view as the last chance for passage this Congress.

As executive director, Witt served as the administration’s chief negotiator on the bill. He led talks with lawmakers and industry stakeholders over its most contested provisions, including a compromise on stablecoin yield, disputes over ethics language, and concerns from law enforcement groups about developer protections.

The ethics provisions remain among the bill’s largest obstacles. Lawmakers continue to negotiate guardrails addressing President Trump’s crypto business interests, after disclosures showed he earned more than $1 billion from crypto ventures last year. 

Prediction market Polymarket prices 2026 passage near 48 percent, down from 74 percent a month earlier.

In Witt’s absence, crypto council deputy director Harry Jung is expected to assume his duties. Jung worked alongside Witt over the past year and sat in on many of the same negotiations, a factor sources cited as a measure of continuity. Witt intends to stay involved during training, though his full-time return remains unconfirmed.

Beyond the Clarity Act, Witt has directed the administration’s rollout of the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and its work on the GENIUS Act, the stablecoin law enacted in July 2025, along with efforts to revise the tax treatment of digital assets.