Jonathan Gould, the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) appointed by Donald Trump, suggested that the US president did not order him to approve or give special consideration to an application for a charter for a trust linked to his family’s financial interests.

During Thursday’s hearing of the House Financial Services Committee on “prudential oversight,” New York Rep. Gregory Meeks questioned Gould on the Trump family’s crypto company World Liberty Financial’s ties to foreign governments and the Binance exchange. The company, co-founded by Trump and his sons, filed for an OCC charter in January, drawing a backlash from many Democratic lawmakers alleging a conflict of interest.

Rep. Gregory Meeks at Thursday’s hearing.
Source: House Financial Services Committee

Meeks said the company is “actively lining the pockets of the president’s family” by pressing the comptroller to hold World Liberty to the same standards as other companies, given its application for a national trust fund charter “to prove whether [he’s] continues to work on behalf of the American people, or [ceded his role] to serve as a fixer for the Trump family.”

Meeks and Gould spoke to each other during the hearing, and the New York lawmaker accused the OCC chief of “fixing Trump,” expressing his confidence that World Liberty’s application would be approved.

“Your attempts to continue to pressure me are the only political pressure I feel from anyone other than your colleagues in the Senate,” Gould said. “This is very unfortunate and unprecedented.”

Gould’s comments come after the OCC has already approved or conditionally agreed to several custodial card applications from crypto companies including Coinbase, Ripple, BitGo, Circle, Fidelity Digital Assets and Paxos. The comptroller took office in July 2025 after being confirmed by the Republican-majority Senate along party lines.

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The head of the OCC said in January, days after World Liberty filed its application, that the agency’s review would be “apolitical and impartial.” However, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who also asked Gould to hold off on World Liberty’s application, said the permits were for “apparently ineligible companies” that violated federal banking law.

Four co-founders of World Liberty, including two of Donald Trump’s sons. Source: World Liberty Financial

Approval of a national trust bank charter allows crypto companies to provide certain services without being subject to the same regulatory requirements as traditional banks. In addition to World Liberty, Kraken’s parent company, Payward, filed an application with the OCC in May.

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