Senators Seek Answers from Lutnick Over Tether Loan

Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ron Wyden wrote to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on April 29 seeking details about a loan from Tether to a trust that benefits his four children. The letter says the loan occurred in October 2025 as Lutnick transferred his stake in Cantor Fitzgerald into multiple family trusts.

The senators cited a recent report that the trust which borrowed from Tether holds more than half the equity in Cantor and that the loan was secured by “all assets” in the trust. They asked Lutnick to confirm those facts and to explain the timing and terms of the transaction.

The letter asks whether Tether’s loan financed Lutnick’s divestiture, whether he had a role in procuring, soliciting or negotiating the loan, the loan’s size and terms, and whether he has had contact with Tether or its executives since becoming Commerce Secretary.

Senators Warren and Wyden requested copies of loan agreements, communications about the transaction, any related recusal or ethics steps taken by Lutnick, and a timeline of events. They set a date for a written response in the letter and said they may pursue further oversight depending on the answers and documents provided.

The letter states that if the reported details are accurate, the circumstances “would raise serious questions about your relationship with Tether and the company’s influence on your policy decisions.” It also asks, “We want to ensure that Tether has not sought to bribe or otherwise exert control or influence over you.”

Lutnick agreed to divest his Cantor Fitzgerald holdings after his confirmation as Commerce Secretary in February 2025 and completed that divestiture in October 2025. He formerly served as chairman and CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald.

Cantor manages large holdings of U.S. Treasury securities that have been mentioned in connection with reserves backing the USDT stablecoin. At the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2024, Lutnick told an audience, “There’s a company that I like called Tether. From what we’ve seen, and we did a lot of work, they have the money they say they have.”

Tether and the Department of Commerce did not respond to requests for comment. The senators’ inquiry follows recent congressional scrutiny of financial ties between public officials and firms in the cryptocurrency industry; further details about the loan and Lutnick’s involvement remain pending his office’s response.