Brad Garlinghouse flies from Santa Monica to Van Nuys as crypto bill hits critical week

Brad Garlinghouse departed Santa Monica Municipal Airport at 2:53 a.m. on May 18, 2026, touching down at Van Nuys Airport 19 minutes later aboard N100RP, a Bombardier Global 6000. The brief hop across the San Fernando Valley is the latest in a series of recent flights that have included a transatlantic leg from Miami to London on May 13 and a journey from London to Norway on May 16.

The same week Garlinghouse is moving around Southern California, the U.S. Senate is approaching what he calls a decisive window for the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act. Speaking at Consensus Miami on May 5 and again at XRP Las Vegas on April 30, Garlinghouse warned that if the bill does not clear the Senate Banking Committee by the third week of May, its chances will "drop precipitously" as the 2026 midterm elections shift lawmakers' attention, per Coindesk and crypto.news. A compromise on stablecoin yield announced by Senators Thom Tillis and Angela Alsobrooks last week removed a key hurdle, but Garlinghouse has described the legislation as imperfect, saying "clarity is better than chaos."

Garlinghouse maintains a presence in both the Bay Area and Fort Lauderdale, and his itinerary this week keeps him in the Los Angeles basin, a region that hosts Ripple's legal and policy advisors. The Van Nuys airport is a common base for industry meetings in the entertainment and financial sectors, and the timing aligns with the bill's narrowing path to passage before Memorial Day recess — a deadline Garlinghouse himself identified as critical. [coindesk.com](https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2026/05/05/ripple-ceo-brad-garlinghouse-says-clarity-better-than-chaos-as-senate-hits-key-moment) [crypto.news](https://crypto.news/ripple-ceo-brad-garlinghouse-says-clarity-act-could-stall-before-midterms/)