Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent sparred with Democratic members of the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday, with one calling him a “flunky” for failing to criticize investment from United Arab Emirates officials in the Trump family’s cryptocurrency venture.
Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., probed Bessent on alleged conflicts of interest and lack of transparency related to World Liberty Financial, which was co-founded by Trump’s family members.
“When a foreign-linked investor is putting hundreds of millions of dollars into a company controlled by the president’s family, and at the same time, this president is conducting foreign policy with that country… it creates a national security concern,” Meeks said.
Meeks asked Bessent to commit to a complete investigation into the “conflicts of interest and foreign influence” and to pause any bank charter or licensing applications at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, an independent arm of the Treasury that regulates banks.
“The OCC is an independent entity,” Bessent said, over the shouts of Meeks, without addressing the topic further.
