U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent testifies during a House Financial Services Committee hearing on the Financial Stability Oversight Council’s annual report at the Capitol on February 4, 2026 in Washington, DC.
Kylie Cooper | Reuters
Dozens of House Democrats sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Thursday asking him to investigate potential conflicts of interest and national security concerns related to the Trump family’s cryptocurrency venture, World Liberty Financial.
The letter was led by Representative Gregory Meeks (D.N.Y.). The 40 other lawmakers landed after Bessent testified at a controversial House Financial Services Committee hearing earlier this month. Mr. Meeks, who attended the hearing, called Mr. Bessent a “whimsical bastard” of President Donald Trump and questioned the $500 million stake that Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE royal family also known as the “Spy Sheikh,” bought in World Liberty Financial last year.
“The Trump family’s $500 million worth of transactions with the Emirates is not only a matter of national financial instability, but also has serious national security implications,” Meeks said in a statement accompanying the letter. “Trust us that the record will reflect whether Secretary Bessent chooses to answer to the American people or to the mob bosses.”
The request for an investigation comes as World Liberty Financial is seeking the establishment of a national bank charter, a distinction reviewed and issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, an independent arm of the Treasury Department that regulates banks.
World Liberty Financial held a day-long forum Wednesday at Mar-a-Lago where the president’s son Don Jr. and Eric Trump promoted the family’s stablecoin and called traditional banking a “Ponzi scheme.”
During the hearing, Meeks asked Bessent to commit to suspending World Liberty Financial’s pending application to the OCC and completing an investigation into “conflicts of interest and foreign influence.”
“The OCC is an independent organization,” Mr. Bessent said, over Mr. Meeks’ cries and without touching on the topic further.
President Donald Trump and his envoy Steve Witkoff are honorary co-founders of the company, which is run by members of the Trump and Witkoff families.
“This is no longer just a debate over virtual currency authorization theory; it is about foreign ownership, national security, regulatory integrity, and whether our nation’s bank authorization process is resilient to political and geopolitical pressures,” the lawmakers wrote Thursday.
In their letter, Democratic lawmakers asked for information about safeguards in place to ensure that “foreign government officials, sovereign agents, or politically connected investors cannot use the bank authorization process to gain influence over the U.S. financial system or access sensitive financial or technology infrastructure.”
It also asks what role the White House, the Office of Management, and the Department of Budget and Treasury play in the OCC “reviewing, approving, or influencing decisions regarding the establishment of national banks and trusts.” Lawmakers asked the Treasury Department to respond by February 26th.
A Treasury spokesperson did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
“The credibility of the U.S. banking regulatory framework and the institutions charged with protecting it depends on demonstrating transparency, independence, and resistance to undue influence,” the lawmakers wrote. “Our voters need confidence that our banking system is governed by law, not near power, and by sound judgment, not political expediency.”
