A group of Senate Democrats is calling for immediate hearings into a reported $500 million deal between the Trump family’s cryptocurrency venture and Abu Dhabi royalty.
In a letter sent Tuesday, Democratic senators urged Republican leaders — who control the Senate and its committee agenda — to hold hearings and compel Trump administration officials to testify under oath about the arrangement involving World Liberty Financial (WLF), the crypto platform tied to President Trump.
The Wall Street Journal reported in January 2025 that an Abu Dhabi investment company backed by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE’s national security adviser, purchased a 49% stake in WLF. Months later, the Trump administration approved a major arms and AI chip deal with the UAE — despite warnings from US national security officials that China could potentially access those chips.
President Trump has said he wasn’t aware of the WLF deal. But the senators aren’t buying it.
“We are deeply concerned about this series of events, which raise questions about what more the UAE may receive — or may have already received — at the expense of US national security after investing in the Trump family crypto company,” the letter states.
The signatories — Elizabeth Warren, Richard Blumenthal, Gary Peters, Dick Durbin, and Ron Wyden — also took aim at the Trump administration’s broader crypto policy moves, including exempting crypto service providers from financial regulations and disbanding the Justice Department’s crypto enforcement team.
This isn’t the first time Warren has pushed for scrutiny of the UAE deal. Back in February, she urged Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to determine whether the investment should trigger a Committee on Foreign Investment review. Earlier this year, Democrats also pressed SEC Chair Paul Atkins over the decision to drop a fraud case against Justin Sun, a major WLF backer.
The conflict-of-interest questions keep piling up. Both Trump critics and supporters have raised concerns about the president’s family profiting from crypto ventures while he pushes to deregulate the sector.
The Senate hasn’t yet responded to the Democrats’ request for hearings.
