Bessent grilled over Trump-linked World Liberty Financial, says Treasury doesn't have the power to 'bail out bitcoin'

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent came under intense scrutiny from lawmakers during a contentious House hearing, with sharp exchanges over World Liberty Financial (WLFI), a Trump-linked crypto and DeFi venture, and the Treasury Department's role in bitcoin (BTC) oversight.

On Wednesday, during a House Financial Services Committee hearing focused on the Treasury's Financial Stability Oversight Council, of which Bessent leads, Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-NY., sharply criticized World Liberty Financial and its links to the United Arab Emirates.

That link has recently come under fire after The Wall Street Journal reported that an investment vehicle backed by Emirati Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan secretly acquired a 49% stake in World Liberty Financial for $500 million just days before Trump's inauguration. President Trump later denied knowledge of that investment.

This comes as World Liberty Financial is seeking a bank charter, and last month filed an application to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Meeks said he wants Bessent to pause any bank charter connected to World Liberty Financial until conflicts of interest are reviewed and investigated.

Bessent said the OCC is an independent entity, but didn't answer the question as to whether he would investigate World Liberty Financial. The exchange escalated from there, with both yelling and talking over each other, ending with Meeks saying to the Treasury Secretary, "to stop covering for the president."

Bessent was also asked about the Treasury's role involving Bitcoin. Trump signed an executive order in March 2025 for a strategic bitcoin reserve, whereby bitcoin in the reserve will initially come from funds forfeited as part of a criminal or civil asset forfeiture, and that bitcoin deposited into the reserve cannot be sold.

Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., asked Bessent if he had the authority to "bail out bitcoin" and if he could "order banks to buy bitcoin or to invest U.S. tax dollars in bitcoin or Trump coin."

"I am Secretary of the Treasury, I do not have the authority to do that, and as chair of FSOC, I do not have that authority," Bessent said, adding later that the Treasury is retaining bitcoin that's been seized.

Bessent's authority over central bank digital currencies also came up during Wednesday's hearing, and whether he was aware of any Federal Reserve or government efforts to develop a U.S. CBDC.

"Absolutely not," Bessent said.

The Federal Reserve has been exploring the possibility of issuing a CBDC and released a report in 2024 examining the pros and cons of a CBDC, but central bank officials have thrown cold water on the idea in the past. Fed Chair Jerome Powell has also said the Fed won't issue a CBDC without congressional approval.