Warren: Trump Is Now the First President to Own and Oversee His Own Bank
Senator Elizabeth Warren is sounding the alarm after federal regulators signed off on a bank charter tied to the Trump family's crypto company.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency gave conditional approval for World Liberty Trust Co. to operate as a national trust bank. World Liberty Financial is the cryptocurrency venture linked to President Trump and his family, who hold a reported 38.25% stake in the business. The approval came in mid-September, just as the Senate was preparing to take up major legislation on crypto markets.
Warren, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, did not hold back: "Donald Trump is now the first president in history to own and oversee his own bank. It may be the most brazen act of self-dealing our financial system has ever seen."
She also spelled out what the charter means in practice. "With a bank charter, World Liberty will be able to operate nationwide, offer families and businesses financial products and services, and enjoy the credibility that comes with the federal government's stamp of approval," she said.
Her central complaint is about who watches whom. The OCC sits inside the Treasury Department and is run by a presidential appointee. Its job is to charter, supervise and, when needed, discipline national banks. Warren's argument is that the President's own administration is now the regulator for a bank his family profits from, which puts the referee and the player on the same team.
Warren and other Democrats have introduced the Ending Presidential Corruption in Banking Act, which would bar presidents and senior government officials from owning or controlling a bank. They are pushing for a floor vote on it before the Senate moves ahead on the crypto market bill. Warren argues the ethics language in that bill "could never be enforced against Donald Trump" because it gives his political appointees the power to turn enforcement off.
It is worth being clear about what a trust charter is. A national trust bank mainly holds and manages assets for customers. It is a narrower license than a full commercial bank that takes deposits and makes loans. Critics say even that narrower license carries the federal government's stamp of approval, which is exactly what Warren is objecting to.
Supporters of the President see it very differently. They say crypto firms deserve the same access to the banking system as everyone else, that the charter is only conditional, and that Democrats have fought the digital asset industry for years through regulators and lawsuits. Many of them view Warren's reaction as one more round in a long campaign against crypto.
With Republicans in control of the Senate, the Democratic bill faces long odds. But the fight is likely to follow the crypto bill all the way to the floor, and every senator will be asked where they stand.
Should a sitting president be allowed to own a bank? YES OR NO?
