A group of US Senate Democrats is urging Senate Republican leaders to hold hearings into a reported $500 million deal between the Trump family’s crypto firm and Abu Dhabi royalty.
In a letter on Tuesday, the Democrats told Republicans, who control the Senate, lead its committees and decide on hearings, that they should “immediately hold hearings” into the deal and have Trump administration officials testify about it under oath.
The Wall Street Journal reported in January that an Abu Dhabi investment company backed by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the United Arab Emirates’ national security adviser, signed a deal in January 2025 to buy a 49% stake in World Liberty Financial, the crypto platform tied to US President Donald Trump.
Months later, in May 2025, the Trump administration made a major arms and artificial intelligence chip deal with the UAE, which the Democratic senators said came “despite concerns raised by US national security officials that China could access the chips.” Trump has said he wasn’t aware of the World Liberty deal.
The letter is the Democrats’ latest bid to probe World Liberty Financial’s dealings and its possible ties to decisions the president has made. Both Trump critics and supporters have criticized the perceived conflict of interest posed by the Trump family’s sprawling crypto interests amid Trump’s push to deregulate the sector.
Donald Trump (right) meeting with Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan (centre) at the White House in March 2025. Source: The White House
“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 Democrats wrote.
“Congress has a responsibility to investigate the details of the reported investment and whether it influenced subsequent actions by President Trump and the Trump Administration,” they added.
The senators said that they’re also concerned about the Trump administration’s “steps to weaken enforcement” by exempting crypto service providers from financial services regulations and disbanding the Justice Department’s crypto enforcement team.
Senators Elizabeth Warren, Richard Blumenthal, Gary Peters, Dick Durbin and Ron Wyden signed the letter.
Warren has called for an investigation into the UAE deal before, urging Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in February to determine if the deal should be subject to a Committee on Foreign Investment probe.
Earlier this year, Democrats pressed Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins over the decision to drop a fraud case against Justin Sun, a major World Liberty Financial backer.
In May, Democratic Senator Peter Welch and Representative Dave Min launched a probe into Trump’s pardons, including that of Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao.
The pardon came after Binance accepted a $2 billion investment from an Abu Dhabi fund in early 2025 and agreed for the funds to be paid in World Liberty Financial’s stablecoin, USD1.
