Federal regulators have granted preliminary approval for a cryptocurrency venture tied to President Trump and his family to operate a digital-asset bank. Senate Democrats, led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), are seeking to block this decision with legislation that would bar the president, vice president, and senior government officials from owning or controlling banks. The proposed bill was introduced after World Liberty Trust Co., founded by Trump's sons and their business associates, received conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. President Trump has earned over $1.2 billion from crypto-related projects, including a 38% stake in his own company, DT Marks DEFI LLC.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-07,
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Leaning score withheld for article 6343: no verified evidence · logged 2026-09-07
Democrats seek to block a Trump-linked crypto bank
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Democrats → seek → bank
- Federal regulators gave preliminary approval to a crypto business tied to President Trump and his family to operate a charter bank.
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regulators → give → bank
The White House disputed claims that the president’s decisions in office have financially benefited him and his allies.
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decisions → dispute → him
Federal regulators have given preliminary approval for a cryptocurrency venture tied to President Trump and his family to operate a digital-asset bank, a decision that has drawn immediate condemnation from Senate Democrats who are now pushing legislation to bar such an action.
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who → give → action
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, and nine other Senate Democrats introduced a bill Saturday that would bar the president, the vice president, their immediate family members and other senior government officials from owning or controlling banks.
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that → introduce → banks
The measure was proposed a day after the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency — which is part of the Trump administration — granted conditional approval for World Liberty Trust Co. to become a trust bank.
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Co. → propose → approval
The firm was founded in 2024 by two of Trump’s sons and the sons of Steve Witkoff, the Trump administration’s special envoy to the Middle East.
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firm → found → East
If the firm gets final approval, it would not act like a conventional bank and take deposits or make loans.
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it → get → loans
Instead, the chartered bank would be able to issue and manage cryptocurrencies and digital assets.
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bank → issue → cryptocurrencies
But the move would grant new financial powers to the Trump family’s crypto business, which has already shown to be profitable for the president in his first year back in the White House.
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which → grant → House
President Trump’s $1.4-billion crypto windfall has become the biggest obstacle to passing his sweeping digital-asset legislation as Democrats demand tougher language to prevent the president from profiting off an industry his administration regulates.
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administration → become → industry
Trump’s financial disclosures show the president has earned more than $1.2 billion from crypto-related projects as he has pushed to deregulate the digital-asset industry.
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he → show → industry
He hauled in more than $500 million from his World Liberty Financial business selling new crypto products and is a significant owner of the firm through an entity called DT Marks DEFI LLC, which holds about a 38% stake.
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which → haul → stake
Aside from World Liberty Financial, Trump last year took in more than $600 million from sales of souvenir-type “meme” coins stamped with his likeness.
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Trump → take → likeness
Trump’s crypto windfall has lately fueled Democrats’ argument that the president stands to personally gain from the same regulatory apparatus he oversees, and has led to acrimonious negotiations in Capitol Hill over how to regulate the industry.
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he → fuel → industry
The White House said Tuesday “there are no conflicts of interest.”
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House → say → interest
But the recent decision by federal regulators in relation to World Liberty Financial is now giving more ammunition to Democrats, who have pushed for more ethical guardrails to crack down on the Trump family’s crypto ventures.
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who → give → ventures
“This is the most brazen act of self-dealing our financial system has ever seen — and Congress cannot allow it to stand,” Warren said in a statement.
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Warren → see → statement
“The Ending Presidential Corruption in Banking Act will close the door on this kind of unprecedented corruption.”
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Act → close → corruption
Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.) said the decision to allow a Trump-linked crypto firm to charter its own bank is “injecting risk into our financial system and fueling the Trump family’s business endeavors.”
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firm → say → endeavors
“It is Congress’ responsibility and duty now to rein in this corruption and ensure that bank charters, deposit insurance, and other banking licenses cannot be handed out to entities influenced or controlled by any President’s family,” Alsobrooks said in a statement.
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Alsobrooks → rein → statement
Trump also took in millions last year from selling Trump-branded Bibles, sneakers and other items in another unprecedented move for the presidency.
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Trump → take → presidency
David Wachsman, a spokesperson for World Liberty Financial, disputed the criticism, saying the preliminary approval is “great news for consumer and investor protection advocates and for the American financial services industry.”
“Critics are missing the point: World Liberty Financial is running towards regulation and continuous oversight, not away from it,” Wachsman said in a statement.
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Wachsman → dispute → statement
“World Liberty Trust Company’s national charter will ensure robust and permanent regulatory supervision from the OCC, a federal banking regulator, that will outlast the Trump administration.”
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that → ensure → administration
Wachsman said World Liberty will be required to provide weekly reports about its operations that will be subject to independent reviews.
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that → say → reviews
He added that federal banking laws such as anti-money-laundering rules and consumer protection statutes will be “directly applicable and enforceable.”
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laws → add → rules
The White House did not comment directly about the administration’s involvement with the World Liberty application to charter a bank.
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House → comment → bank
But in a statement, the White House disputed claims that the president’s decisions in office have financially benefited him and his allies.
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decisions → dispute → him
“All of President Trump’s investment holdings are in held in fully discretionary accounts managed by independent third-party financial institutions,” Anna Kelly, a White House spokesperson, said in a statement.
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Kelly → hold → statement
“The President only acts in the best interests of the American public — which is why they overwhelmingly re-elected him to this office, despite years of lies and false accusations against him and his businesses from the fake news media.”
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they → act → media
Kelly added: “There are no conflicts of interest.”
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Kelly → add → interest
