U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) Comptroller Jonathan Gould engaged in a heated debate at a Senate Banking Committee hearing regarding World Liberty Financial's (WLFI) application for a national trust banking license. Warren called the application the "most despicable" presidential corruption scandal, pointing to an investment firm linked to UAE National Security Advisor Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan investing $500 million in WLFI four days before Trump's inauguration, acquiring a 49% stake, of which approximately $187 million went to Trump family entities. Warren urged Gould to reject or suspend the review of the application, stating that approval would make it "an accomplice to corruption." Gould refused to intervene, stating that he would process the application according to standard procedures and countered that the only political pressure he felt came from Warren. Forty-one House Democrats had previously written to the Treasury Secretary, warning that approving the license could threaten "the legitimacy of the U.S. banking system and its independence from foreign actors." (Decrypt)