Warren Presses Lutnick Over Decision to Grant UAE Access to Sensitive U.S. Tech Following Investment in Trump Family Crypto Company

Warren Presses Lutnick Over Decision to Grant UAE Access to Sensitive U.S. Tech Following Investment in Trump Family Crypto Company

"The Department's actions raise significant questions about the potential influence the President's cryptocurrency business interests may be having on the agency's operations and our national security."

Text of Letter (PDF)

Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, sent a letter to Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick pressing for information regarding the agency's recent decision to roll back export controls and grant the United Arab Emirates (UAE) sweeping, license-free access to sensitive U.S. technology. This decision comes after UAE firms reportedly invested hundreds of millions of dollars in the Trump family crypto venture, World Liberty Financial, last year.

"It is deeply concerning that some of those same UAE entities will now have license-free access to advanced AI chips, despite reported warnings from the Department of Commerce's own staff that the technology could get diverted to China," wrote Ranking Member Warren.

In the letter, Ranking Member Warren noted that Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security has historically reserved enhanced strategic trading relationships to those countries that coordinate their export control restrictions to ensure that critical technology is not diverted for military uses and for use in weapons of mass destruction. The Trump Administration upended that precedent, reportedly overruling career staff to add the UAE - which does not belong to any of the multilateral export control regimes and has not sought to join any - and dramatically increasing the risk that U.S. technology may be diverted to those who seek to undermine U.S. national security.

"The timing of this decision is alarming. It came after UAE firms linked to Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE's top national security official, invested hundreds of millions in the Trump family crypto venture, World Liberty Financial, in 2025," wrote the Ranking Member. "After that investment into WLF, Sheikh Tahnoon reportedly sought approvals to import advanced AI chips in meetings with U.S. officials. Now, the Trump Administration has apparently granted the request, allowing G42 - the AI company chaired by Sheikh Tahnoon - license-free access for advanced AI chips and other sensitive U.S. technology."

In order to inform her congressional oversight responsibilities, the Ranking Member requested written answers from Lutnick on Commerce's rationale and the national security implications of the decision.

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