Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that President Donald Trump, his Special Envoy Steven Witkoff, and all Federal officials must comply with the Foreign Emoluments Clause of the Constitution by immediately turning over to the Department of the Treasury any payments received from the United Arab Emirates or any other foreign state and divest from all business interests linked to foreign governments.

Key Points

• Rep. Raskin and 28 House Democrats introduced a non-binding resolution claiming Trump and Special Envoy Witkoff violated the Foreign Emoluments Clause by accepting money tied to the UAE government through a cryptocurrency business deal, without getting Congress's permission.
• The resolution centers on a $500 million deal in which a UAE-linked investment firm bought nearly half of World Liberty Financial, a crypto platform co-founded by Trump and Witkoff. The Trump and Witkoff families reportedly received immediate payouts of $187 million and $31 million respectively.
• The resolution alleges that after this business deal, the Trump administration took several steps to help the UAE get advanced American semiconductor chips, including approving exports of 35,000 chips to a UAE entity. This raises concerns about conflicts of interest and national security risks.
• If adopted, the resolution would express the House's view that Trump, Witkoff, and all federal officials must immediately turn over any foreign payments to the U.S. Treasury and sell off all business interests linked to foreign governments. However, as a sense-of-the-House resolution, it has no legal force.
• The resolution highlights national security concerns, noting that the UAE has ties to China and that bipartisan worries exist about advanced AI technology falling into Chinese hands through UAE intermediaries.