The ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, together with ranking members of four other Senate committees, has written to the Republican chairs of their committees calling for immediate hearings into the Trump family’s cryptocurrency firm, World Liberty Financial, and its reported links to the United Arab Emirates. The lawmakers cite public reporting that associates of an Abu Dhabi royal bought a 49% stake in the firm for about USD 500 million four days before Donald Trump’s inauguration, including USD 218 million paid upfront to entities tied to the families of President Trump and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. The letter argues that, within months of that reported deal, the Trump administration approved USD 1.4 billion in arms sales to the UAE, allowed the sale of 35,000 advanced artificial intelligence chips to the UAE’s G42 despite national security concerns, and loosened cryptocurrency enforcement by disbanding the Justice Department’s National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team. It also points to UAE-backed MGX taking a stake in TikTok despite President Trump’s earlier statement that the platform would be owned by American investors and companies. The senators say the sequence of events raises questions about whether the investment influenced later administration decisions. The lawmakers are seeking immediate hearings and say Trump administration officials should explain under oath what they knew about the payments and how they would address concerns that policy decisions may have favored the president’s personal interests over U.S. national security.
U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs2026-06-23
U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs ranking member urges hearings on Trump family crypto firm and UAE ties
The ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs and four other Senate Democrats urged immediate hearings into World Liberty Financial and its reported UAE links. Their letter cites a reported USD 500 million UAE-connected stake purchase before the inauguration and questions whether later arms, AI chip and crypto enforcement decisions were influenced by that deal. The senators want administration officials to testify under oath.