Senate Democrats Want A Closer Look At Trump's $500M UAE Crypto Side Quest 🇺🇸

Five Democratic senators have asked Republican committee chairs to hold a congressional hearing on a $500 million investment in World Liberty Financial (WLFI), the crypto firm tied to President Donald Trump, and on what they describe as potential conflicts of interest involving a foreign government official. The lawmakers named Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE's National Security Adviser, as the lead investor, citing reports that the deal gave a UAE partner a 49% stake in WLFI and was signed four days before Trump was sworn in on January 2025. In their letters, the senators said foreign buyers had already paid $218 million to entities linked to Trump and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.

The senators also pointed to post-inauguration policy moves, noting that the UAE has received more than $1.4 billion in arms sales and more than $1 billion in exports of high-end artificial intelligence chips since January 2025. They are requesting sworn statements from Trump administration officials and others involved, seeking records on which authorities were aware of the payments and on the timing of the transaction. The legislators characterized the arrangement as an unprecedented situation in which a foreign government official could hold a controlling interest in a company associated with a sitting president.

World Liberty Financial has drawn attention in Washington alongside a separate policy dispute involving the CLARITY Act, a market structure bill that has become a flashpoint over how digital assets are classified and regulated in the United States. Senate Democrats have framed their request as part of broader oversight into foreign influence and presidential dealings, while the deal itself remains under scrutiny pending any committee response.

As of publication, no Republican committee chair had publicly committed to holding the requested hearing, and World Liberty Financial had not issued an on-the-record response to the senators' letters. The lawmakers gave no public deadline for the requested sworn statements, leaving the next procedural step with the GOP-led committees that received the correspondence.