Senators Seek Answers on Lutnick, Tether Loan to Family Trust

Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ron Wyden pressed Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick for details about a reported October loan from Tether to a trust that benefits his four children. The loan coincided with Lutnick’s transfer of his Cantor Fitzgerald ownership to family trusts, they wrote in a letter dated April 29. The senators asked whether the loan financed his divestiture, whether Lutnick helped arrange it, and whether Tether has sought to influence him.

The senators said the borrowing trust holds more than half of Cantor Fitzgerald’s equity and that the loan was reportedly secured by ‘all assets’ in the trust. They requested the loan’s size, terms and purpose, and asked whether Lutnick had contact with Tether or its executives after becoming Commerce Secretary.

‘We want to ensure that Tether has not sought to bribe or otherwise exert control or influence over you,’ the senators wrote. They requested documents and communications related to the loan, any role Lutnick played in procuring or negotiating the financing, and a timeline of communications and intermediaries involved.

Lutnick was longtime chairman and CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald. Cantor manages U.S. Treasury securities that underlie the reserves for Tether’s USDT stablecoin. In 2024 at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Lutnick defended Tether’s reserves, commenting that the company ‘has the money they say they have.’ He became Commerce Secretary in February 2025 and completed a divestiture of his Cantor holdings in October 2025.

The senators asked whether any collateral or guarantees tied to the loan involved assets beyond the borrowing trust and whether the loan altered the trusts’ financial position or leverage. They also sought copies of loan documents, security agreements and records of conversations between Lutnick and Tether representatives.

Tether and the Department of Commerce did not respond to requests for comment. The senators’ letter seeks a response and supporting records to clarify whether the loan was connected to Lutnick’s divestiture and whether any discussions or agreements with Tether took place while he held public office.

The inquiry is part of broader congressional scrutiny of ties between crypto companies and senior officials and attention to how stablecoin issuers finance operations and interact with major financial services firms. Cantor Fitzgerald’s role managing Treasury assets that back USDT has drawn attention in discussions about stablecoin reserve composition and transparency.