Senator Warren demanded Commerce Department explanation for UAE export-control waivers granted to entities linked to Trump crypto investment.
Senator Elizabeth Warren has demanded that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick explain the Trump administration's July decision to ease export controls on the United Arab Emirates, citing hundreds of millions of dollars in investments from UAE-linked entities into President Donald Trump's family cryptocurrency venture. In her letter to Commerce, Warren pressed the agency to produce the national-security analysis underlying the decision and to disclose whether the Defense, State, or Energy departments had objected on grounds that advanced U.S. technology could end up in Chinese or Iranian hands. "The Department's actions raise significant questions about the potential influence the President's cryptocurrency business interests may be having on the agency's operations and our national security," Warren wrote.
The inquiry centers on Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE's national security advisor and chairman of artificial intelligence company G42 and investment firm MGX. Entities connected to Sheikh Tahnoon have invested $500 million into World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency venture tied to the Trump family, and have obtained board seats in return. MGX has also used World Liberty's USD1 stablecoin to complete a $2 billion investment in cryptocurrency exchange Binance. There is no evidence those transactions influenced the export-controls decision.
In July, Commerce moved the UAE into Country Group A:5, a classification that permits exporters to ship certain sensitive goods under blanket exemptions without obtaining individual licenses. Under the reclassification, the UAE government, G42, and Core42—G42's cloud division—gain easier access to certain advanced-computing hardware. Commerce also stated it would look favorably on license applications for semiconductors and servers bound for MGX.
Warren, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, called the timing "alarming," noting reports that Sheikh Tahnoon sought approvals to import advanced AI chips in meetings with U.S. officials after the World Liberty Financial investment. She argued further that Commerce departed from precedent, since every other country in the same export-control category participates in at least one of four major international export-control agreements—the UAE does not.
Warren posed seven sets of questions for Commerce, asking how the agency would prevent controlled technology from reaching prohibited users and whether chips shipped to G42 could be accessed by entities tied to Chinese military or intelligence agencies. She called for both Lutnick and Jeffrey Kessler, head of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security, to testify before Congress.
Commerce has defended the reclassification by pointing to the UAE's role as a significant American defense partner and has insisted that the move does not strip away the guardrails designed to keep sensitive technology from prohibited end-users or nations. The Commerce Department and the White House did not respond to requests for comment.
Trump's cryptocurrency dealings have attracted scrutiny in Congress and among ethics experts. World Liberty Financial's token sales generated upward of $500 million in 2025, with Trump receiving 75 percent of net revenue from the project, according to his 2025 financial disclosure, which showed cryptocurrency now accounts for a greater share of his earnings than his real estate holdings and licensing deals combined.