Critics Say Democrats Should Probe Trump's Middle East Deals
After the US midterm elections, Democrats have pledged to investigate corruption allegations against the Trump administration. Analysts expect the president's family ties to wealthy Middle Eastern states to be a central focus.
Polls taken around the recent US midterm elections suggest voters are most concerned about corruption in Donald Trump's administration. Senior Democrats said within days of the vote that they will investigate corruption allegations once they take their seats in Congress in January. Analysts expect many of those inquiries to focus on the links between Trump, his family and wealthy Middle Eastern countries.
Amy Hawthorne of the Washington-based think tank Arab Center predicts that cases involving the Middle East will be among the Democrats' top targets.
Income and cryptocurrency
According to financial disclosures Trump published mid-year, his businesses earned about $2 billion in 2025, three times the previous year's figure. Brian Katulis of the Middle East Institute writes that Gulf entities paid around $300 million to the president's businesses in 2025.
Part of the income came from selling a stake in the cryptocurrency firm World Liberty Financial, founded in 2024 by the Trump and Witkoff families. Steve Witkoff is Trump's special envoy to the Middle East. A large share of the company was bought by an investment firm backed by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a senior United Arab Emirates official. In May 2026 the US agreed to give the UAE access to advanced AI chips. Critics allege a connection; the administration denies it.
Real estate, a jet and the Board of Peace
Trump-branded projects in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and the Maldives are being built by developers with close government ties. In 2025 Trump reported $59.5 million in foreign real estate licensing income, ten times the 2023 figure.
Qatar's royal family gave Trump a luxury jet worth about $400 million in May 2025. Senator Elizabeth Warren has said the Trump presidential library project will be investigated.
The Gaza "Board of Peace" has also drawn criticism over a lack of transparency in its finances. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, has named Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner's Middle East activities among his concerns. Kushner denies the allegations.
