US Senate Democrats demand a hearing on the UAE's $500 million investment in Trump's crypto project, accusing policy-related quid pro quo.

Five U.S. Senate Democratic lawmakers, including Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal, sent a joint letter on June 23 urging multiple Senate committees to hold an immediate hearing on the $500 million investment by UAE officials in Trump family crypto project WLFI, to investigate whether the investment influenced subsequent Trump administration policy decisions toward the UAE. The letter revealed that an agent of an Abu Dhabi royal family member signed an agreement with the Trump family to acquire a 49% stake in WLFI for $500 million, with the deal closing four days before Trump’s inauguration. The foreign buyer paid an upfront $218 million to entities linked to the Trump family and Middle East chief diplomat Steve Witkoff. The transaction was reportedly backed by UAE National Security Advisor Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, with lawmakers calling the move “unprecedented in U.S. political history.” Of greater concern is the policy trajectory following the deal. As outlined in the letter, within months of the agreement, the Trump administration made a series of decisions clearly favorable to the UAE: approving a $1.4 billion arms sale to the country; the Treasury Department launching the “Known Investors Pilot Program,” paving the way for a fast-track CFIUS review long sought by the UAE; and the Commerce Department rolling back Biden-era chip export restrictions, authorizing UAE AI firm G42 to acquire 35,000 Nvidia Blackwell chips in a deal worth over $1 billion. However, U.S. intelligence officials reportedly discovered that G42 had provided U.S. technology to China that could be used to enhance missile capabilities. The senators demanded Trump administration officials “explain under oath when they learned about payments to the president’s family and his top regional diplomat” and outline steps to restore public trust. To date, neither WLFI nor the UAE government has responded to requests for comment on the matter.