OCC Chief Rejects Political Pressure Claims in World Liberty Charter Review

Jonathan Gould, head of the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, pushed back against Democratic criticism over his agency’s review of a bank charter application from World Liberty Financial, the crypto company tied to President Donald Trump and his family. During a House Financial Services Committee hearing, Gould said the only political pressure he had felt on the matter came from Democratic lawmakers questioning the process.

The dispute matters because World Liberty’s application sits at the intersection of crypto regulation, banking access and political conflict. A national trust-bank charter would be a significant regulatory step for a Trump-linked crypto business, while lawmakers are also scrutinizing whether regulators can handle such applications independently and under existing ethics rules.

Representative Gregory Meeks, a New York Democrat, questioned whether Gould was serving the public or acting as a “Trump fixer.” Gould rejected that framing and said the OCC would follow the statute governing charter decisions. Democrats have raised concerns about World Liberty’s links to foreign investors and crypto partners previously associated with illicit behavior, including Binance, according to the source report.

The hearing also focused on stablecoins and implementation of the GENIUS Act. World Liberty is also a stablecoin issuer, and banking regulators told lawmakers they have already proposed several rules tied to the new law. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Travis Hill said regulators expect to propose a rule soon requiring customer-identification programs for stablecoin issuers.

Lawmakers split sharply over stablecoin policy. National Credit Union Administration Chairman Kyle Hauptman described stablecoins as a potential improvement for payments settlement, while Representative Brad Sherman argued against allowing government payments in stablecoins and warned regulators to enforce the GENIUS Act’s ban on paying interest on stablecoins.

The hearing also touched on the Federal Reserve’s limited approval of a master account for crypto exchange Kraken. Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman said Kraken’s access to the payments system is narrow and initially limited to 12 months, with the central bank watching the arrangement as it develops broader rules for such accounts.