Warren, Wyden Seek Answers From Commerce Secretary Lutnick

Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ron Wyden asked Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to explain whether an October loan from Tether to a trust benefiting his children financed his sale of a multibillion-dollar stake in Cantor Fitzgerald and whether he played any role in arranging the loan.

In a letter dated April 29, the senators cited a recent report that a trust for Lutnick’s four children borrowed from Tether at the same time Lutnick transferred portions of his Cantor Fitzgerald holdings into multiple family trusts. The letter says the borrowing trust holds more than half of Cantor Fitzgerald’s equity and that the loan was secured by “all assets” in the trust.

Warren and Wyden asked Lutnick to state whether Tether’s loan financed his divestiture, whether he was involved in procuring or negotiating the loan, the size and terms of the loan, and whether he has had any contact with Tether or its executives since becoming Commerce Secretary. They requested documents and communications related to the loan and its collateral. The letter did not set a public deadline for a response.

Lutnick agreed to divest his stake in Cantor Fitzgerald when he became Commerce Secretary in February 2025 and completed the divestiture in October 2025. He was the longtime chairman and chief executive of Cantor Fitzgerald, a New York firm that manages the U.S. Treasury assets reported as backing the stablecoin USDT issued by Tether.

The senators’ letter noted Lutnick’s public comments about Tether. At the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2024, he told attendees, “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.” The letter asks whether any contacts or financial arrangements with Tether continued after he joined the Commerce Department.

The senators wrote that if the reported loan helped finance his divestiture and provided Tether an interest in the family trusts’ assets, it would raise “serious questions” about the secretary’s relationship with the company and potential influence on policy decisions.

Tether and the Department of Commerce did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The letter is part of a series of inquiries by Democratic lawmakers about ties between crypto companies and administration officials; lawmakers have raised related concerns in hearings and in written requests for information.

Warren and Wyden asked Lutnick to provide the requested documents, disclose the loan’s terms and collateral, and detail any interactions with Tether executives since February 2025 to allow the senators to evaluate whether any conflicts of interest or improper influence exist.