Warren and Wyden Open Probe of Commerce Secretary Lutnick Over Reported Tether Loan to Trust for His Children

Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Ron Wyden of Oregon have opened a formal Senate inquiry into Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino over a reported loan from the stablecoin issuer to a trust benefiting Lutnick’s children.

In letters dated April 29 and publicized Thursday by Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee, Warren and Wyden sought documents and answers about a reported loan from Tether to “Dynasty Trust A,” which the senators said is a trust whose beneficiaries include Lutnick’s four children. They asked for the credit document, the size and terms of the loan, any collateral and related communications, and set a May 13 response deadline.

The senators said the reported arrangement could raise ethics, influence and national-security concerns because Lutnick oversees the Commerce Department while Tether, issuer of the world’s largest stablecoin, remains an important company in crypto markets. In their letter to Lutnick, they wrote: “If reports of this loan are accurate, it would raise serious questions about your relationship with Tether and the company’s influence on your policy decisions. We want to ensure that Tether has not sought to bribe or otherwise exert control or influence over you.”

The inquiry stems from a Bloomberg report published March 18. Bloomberg reported that a New York credit document filed on Oct. 7, 2025, showed Tether had lent an undisclosed amount to Dynasty Trust A. According to Bloomberg, the loan was secured by “all assets” held by the trust, allegedly including more than half the equity in Cantor Fitzgerald, the financial services firm formerly led by Lutnick.

The timing drew added scrutiny in the senators’ letters. An SEC Schedule 13D amendment shows Lutnick’s divestiture of his Cantor Fitzgerald ownership was completed on Oct. 6, 2025, the day before the filing described by Bloomberg. Warren and Wyden asked whether the reported Tether loan helped finance that divestiture and whether any commitments or promises were made in exchange.

The letters also point to an earlier business relationship between Cantor and Tether. In written responses submitted during his Senate confirmation process, Lutnick said Cantor Fitzgerald made a convertible-debt investment in the holding company that owns Tether in April 2024 and that he participated in those negotiations. In those answers, he described the instrument as debt, not equity.

That background gives the reported trust loan added significance for lawmakers examining whether Lutnick adequately disclosed ties to Tether and whether the company could have unusual leverage with a Cabinet official. Tether has previously faced regulatory scrutiny: In 2021, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which regulates derivatives markets, ordered Tether and Bitfinex to pay about $42.5 million over misleading statements about reserves.

As of Friday, there had been no public substantive response from Lutnick or Tether to the April 29 letters.

Bloomberg reported earlier that a Cantor spokesman said the acquisition “was funded through multiple sources, multiple companies, and multiple trust funds at market rates and prices.” Bloomberg also reported a prior Commerce Department statement saying Lutnick “has fully complied with the terms of his ethics agreement.”