Senators Seek Answers on Lutnick, Tether Loan to Trust

Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ron Wyden on April 29 asked Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to disclose whether a loan from stablecoin issuer Tether to a trust benefiting his four children helped finance the October transfer of Lutnick’s Cantor Fitzgerald stake. The loan was reportedly made in October, the same month Lutnick completed a divestiture he agreed to when he became Commerce Secretary in February 2025.

The senators requested records and answers about whether the Tether loan financed the divestiture, whether Lutnick had a role in arranging or negotiating the loan, the loan’s size and terms, and whether he has had any contact with Tether or its executives since taking office. The letter asks for documents and communications related to the loan and to Lutnick’s contacts with Tether.

In their letter the lawmakers wrote, “If reports of this loan are accurate, it would raise serious questions about your relationship with Tether and the company’s influence on your policy decisions,” and added, “We want to ensure that Tether has not sought to bribe or otherwise exert control or influence over you.”

The trust that received the loan reportedly holds more than half of the equity in Cantor Fitzgerald, and the loan was described as being backed by “all assets” in the trust. Cantor manages substantial holdings of U.S. Treasury securities that have been used as part of the reserves backing Tether’s USDT stablecoin. In a 2024 interview at the World Economic Forum, Lutnick publicly defended Tether, saying, “From what we’ve seen, and we did a lot of work, they have the money they say they have.”

The senators also asked whether any portion of the trust’s assets or equity were pledged as collateral and whether any covenants or rights attached to the loan could give Tether influence over the trust’s holdings. The request seeks to clarify whether there was coordination between the timing of Lutnick’s sale and the financing provided to the trusts.

Tether and the Department of Commerce did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The inquiry is part of broader scrutiny by Democrats of officials with ties to the cryptocurrency industry; lawmakers have raised conflicts-of-interest concerns about administration officials with connections to digital-asset firms since President Donald Trump began his second term.

Lutnick divested his private stake in Cantor as part of ethics requirements upon joining the Cabinet. The senators’ letter seeks to determine whether the divestiture was financed entirely through private channels or if the reported Tether loan was involved in moving ownership into family trusts.