Last updated: July 16, 2026. This page supplements the Abuse of Power page.
| Date | Administration Action | Why is this Unethical? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 2025 | President Trump’s company signed a deal to build a golf course in Qatar with a Saudi Arabian company and one owned by the Qatari government. | This deal, in addition to his other global business holdings, raises questions about his ability to separate U.S. foreign policy from his own financial interests. | Qatar’s royal family also gave the president a $400 million jet destined for his presidential library (see the Abuse of Power page). |
| May 2025 | The Trump family’s business announced that a fund backed by the United Arab Emirates would be investing $2 billion in the president’s cryptocurrency. The announcement was made by a founder of the Trump family crypto business who is also the son of the U.S. envoy to the Middle East. | This raises a litany of conflicts of interest, including regarding how the president regulates cryptocurrency and whether these ventures shape his foreign policy. A Senate resolution formally states the deal “is a violation of the Foreign Emoluments Clause”, since Congress never consented. | The deal was consummated: the Emirati fund used $2 billion of the family’s stablecoin to buy a stake in Binance — whose founder the president then pardoned — and reporting links the arrangement to the administration’s approval of advanced-chip sales to the UAE. |
| 2025–2026 | The Trump Organization’s foreign business exploded during the presidency: watchdogs count 24 Trump-branded projects under development abroad, including roughly $10 billion in projects with a Saudi developer, groundbreakings in Vietnam, and a new Dubai tower. | These are direct financial pipelines from foreign governments and government-linked developers to the sitting president while he sets policy toward those countries — the core concern of the Foreign Emoluments Clause. Forbes found foreign licensing revenue grew roughly 900% since Trump returned to power, generating $61 million in 2026 alone (UAE $23M, India $10M, Saudi Arabia $9M, Qatar, Romania, and Vietnam $5M each). | In April 2026, House Judiciary members filed resolutions demanding compliance with both Emoluments Clauses, citing these deals; standing obstacles have kept the merits out of court. |