Senator Warren Urges OCC to Postpone World Liberty Financial Review

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren has requested that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) delay its evaluation of a national trust bank charter application submitted by World Liberty Financial (WLFI). Warren’s call for postponement centers on the involvement of President Trump and his family in the company. In her letter to OCC Comptroller Jonathan Gould, Warren emphasized potential conflicts of interest that could arise from the President’s connections to the venture.

Last week, WLFI, through its subsidiary WLTC Holdings LLC, filed for the establishment of the World Liberty Trust Company, National Association (WLTC), which aims to provide stablecoin services. These services include the issuance and redemption of USD1, alongside custody and conversion functions. Warren contends that the President’s and his family’s business ties pose significant conflict concerns. Under the GENIUS Act of 2025, the OCC oversees federally licensed stablecoin issuers, responsible for approving charters and ensuring compliance. Warren fears that, if approved, the OCC would be in a position to regulate a company linked to the President’s personal financial interests.

The senator further pointed out that the Trump family has reportedly earned over $1 billion from WLFI and other crypto ventures. She argued that the approval of the application would place the OCC in a position to enforce regulations affecting the President’s company and its competitors. “In essence, the President would oversee his own financial company, a historical first,” Warren noted in her letter.

The company’s website lists President Trump as Co-Founder Emeritus, with his sons Barron, Eric, and Donald Trump Jr. as co-founders. A Co-Founder Emeritus holds an honorary role, no longer active in executive functions. Warren previously sought clarification from the OCC on their strategy to handle such financial conflicts, but the agency dismissed her concerns as hypothetical.

With WLFI’s formal submission, Warren asserts that the issues are now pressing and require immediate attention. She criticized Gould’s perceived indifference and expressed doubts over a fair assessment of the application. Warren has asked the OCC to delay the review until the President has divested from WLFI and related family interests, setting a January 20 deadline for a written commitment from the agency.

Warren’s intervention is part of a broader discourse within the U.S. banking sector about granting national trust charters to crypto firms. Both the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) and the American Bankers Association (ABA) have raised similar apprehensions concerning applications by companies such as Ripple, Circle, and Paxos.

The senator’s current stance on WLFI is consistent with her earlier critiques of Trump-affiliated cryptocurrency initiatives. In early 2025, she, along with Representative Jake Auchincloss, urged the SEC and CFTC to investigate the TRUMP and MELANIA meme coins launched by President Trump and the First Lady.

The ongoing debate reflects wider issues of regulatory oversight, potential conflicts of interest, and the evolving landscape of cryptocurrency integration into traditional banking frameworks. These concerns are likely to persist as the OCC continues to review new applications and as legislative discussions around crypto market structures advance. Stakeholders are keenly observing how these developments unfold, particularly concerning the ethical and regulatory implications of high-profile political figures’ involvement in the financial sector.