U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, the former CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald who handled Tether’s U.S. finances, is being grilled by Senate Democrats over reports that a trust tied to his children received a loan from Tether that was intended to help Lutnick divest his children’s shares in the company.
Elizabeth Warren, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, and Ron Wyden, the top Democrat on the Finance Committee, asked the world’s leading stablecoin issuer whether the company helped finance Lutnick’s multibillion-dollar financial services company transfers through trusts tied to his adult children when Lutnick was subject to government ethics requirements after taking a cabinet role.
“If reports of this loan are accurate, they raise serious questions about the relationship between Secretary Lutnick and Tether, as well as Tether’s influence on Mr. Lutnick’s policy decisions,” the lawmakers wrote in two letters, responding to reports of the unspecified loan that first appeared on Bloomberg News.
Congress, with the help of President Donald Trump’s administration, helped craft a new law last year to govern stablecoin issuers, including Tether. CEO Ardoino was a front-row guest at the White House signing the bill, known as the Genius Act. Lutnick was also present at the festivities and is a member of the President’s Digital Asset Task Force, which outlines and drives U.S. cryptocurrency policy.
“It is critical that decisions are made because they are in the best interest of the American public and not the financial interests of your family or Tether,” the senators wrote in their letter to Lutnick.
Representatives for the U.S. Department of Commerce and Tether did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the letters.
Lutnick’s Cantor is now run by the sons of Chairman and CEO Brandon Lutnick and Executive Vice Chairman Kyle Lutnick.
Tether, based in El Salvador, has been pursuing a U.S. strategy, launching the USAT stablecoin and establishing a U.S. arm of the company led by Trump’s former cryptocurrency adviser Bo Hines.
Cantor is by far the largest donor to Fellowship PAC, a relatively new political action committee that has spent millions of dollars to date supporting Republicans in various races for Senate, House and governor. The Fellowship is led by Tether U.S. executives and its payouts are channeled through a media company whose co-founders include Hines and his father.
