Key facts
- Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar could be drawn into Democratic-led congressional investigations, observers said.
- Subpoenas are expected to begin in January, with most commentators expecting a focus on alleged corruption over the past two years, AGBI reported.
- Brian Katulis of the Middle East Institute wrote that Gulf entities paid around $300 million to Trump's businesses in 2025, DW reported.
- Trump's financial disclosures showed about $2 billion in business income for 2025, triple the prior year, DW reported.
- A lawsuit filed in late October alleges a UAE fund chaired by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan spent about $2 billion on a World Liberty cryptocurrency to inflate the company's value, DW reported.
- The Trump administration has denied allegations of a connection between UAE chip access and Trump family business dealings, DW reported.
Democrats who won control of both chambers of Congress in the midterm elections are expected to use their majorities to investigate US President Donald Trump's final two years in office, and Washington's Gulf allies could be drawn in, according to observers cited in reports dated November 12, 2026.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar could all face congressional scrutiny over allegations that Trump, his family and influential administration members abused their positions to enrich themselves in return for political favors, the observers said. Most commentators expect subpoenas to begin in January, focused on alleged corruption over the past two years, AGBI reported.
Senior Democratic figures said shortly after the midterms that they will investigate corruption accusations once they take their seats in January, DW reported. Amy Hawthorne, a non-resident fellow at the Arab Center in Washington, wrote in a commentary that cases involving the Middle East will be the Democrats' top targets, according to DW.
Trump's financial disclosures published in mid-2026 showed his businesses made about $2 billion in income during 2025, triple the prior year, DW reported. Brian Katulis, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington, wrote in July after the disclosure that Gulf entities paid around $300 million to the president's businesses in 2025, DW reported.
DW reported that a large portion of World Liberty Financial, a crypto company founded by the Trump and Witkoff families in 2024, was sold in January 2025 to an investment firm backed by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE's national security adviser. In May 2025 the US agreed to allow the UAE access to advanced AI chips despite objections from some national security advisers, and Trump's critics allege a connection, which the administration has denied, DW reported.
A lawsuit filed in late October alleges a UAE investment fund chaired by Tahnoon spent about $2 billion on a World Liberty cryptocurrency to inflate the company's value, according to DW. AGBI reported Saudi-led investment into World Liberty Financial of $500 million and said Trump's name appears on towers, hotels and golf courses across Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman and Qatar.