Overview
- Rep. Gregory Meeks demanded that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent commit to pausing and intensifying review of any OCC actions tied to World Liberty Financial.
- Bessent declined to order a pause, asserting that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency operates independently from the Treasury Department.
- Meeks cited reports of investor losses of about 50% in World Liberty Financial as he pressed for heightened scrutiny and transparency.
- The Wall Street Journal previously reported a $500 million investment from a United Arab Emirates royal and top official into the venture, which is run by members of the Trump and Witkoff families.
- During the heated exchange, Meeks accused Bessent of covering for the president, Bessent referenced Meeks’s 2006 Venezuela trip, and the hearing moved on to broader regulatory topics including Federal Reserve independence and Treasury 'Trump accounts.'