Senator Elizabeth Warren is advocating for a pause on World Liberty Financial's pursuit of a bank charter until President Donald Trump severs his connections with the company. In a recent communication to Jonathan Gould, the Comptroller of the Currency, Warren requested a delay in reviewing World Liberty’s application for a national trust bank. Her letter emphasized the need for Trump to “eliminate all financial conflicts of interest involving himself, his family, and the company” before any progress is made.
Highlighting the gravity of the situation, Warren stated, “We have never seen financial conflicts or corruption of this magnitude.” She criticized the United States Congress for not addressing these conflicts when enacting the GENIUS Act and urged the Senate to tackle these issues as it considers legislation on the crypto market structure.
Earlier this month, a World Liberty subsidiary, WLTC Holdings, sought a bank charter from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which would allow them to issue, manage, and convert their stablecoin, USD1. The involvement of President Trump and his sons, Barron, Eric, and Donald Trump Jr., as co-founders of World Liberty, has brought substantial financial gain to the family.
Warren expressed her skepticism about Gould’s ability to impartially assess the application, criticizing his previous avoidance of questions about how he would prevent Trump from influencing OCC decisions. She pointed out that Gould would oversee the creation of rules impacting World Liberty’s profits and be responsible for enforcing laws applicable to the company and its competitors, all while serving under the President's authority.
Warren remarked, "In effect, for the first time in history, the President of the United States would be in charge of overseeing his own financial company." This concern amplifies the call for stringent checks on potential conflicts of interest.
In related developments, Warren, a senior Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, is preparing to discuss a crypto market structure bill. This debate is set against the backdrop of a delay from the Senate Agriculture Committee, which postponed its discussions to gain broader bipartisan backing and potentially incorporate conflict-of-interest provisions.
A draft of the Banking Committee’s bill, released on Monday, lacked ethics clauses sought by Democrats, but further negotiations and amendments are anticipated before the bill progresses.