Democrats warn Bessent and Lutnick that Trump’s tariffs are fostering corruption.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., conducts a news conference in the U.S. Capitol to voice opposition to the Senate Republicans’ budget resolution on April 3, 2025. Tom Williams | CQ-Roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images

Dozens of Democratic lawmakers are expressing concerns that President Donald Trump’s tariff-heavy trade agenda is beginning to resemble a “corrupt scheme to enrich administration officials and those loyal to them.” The Trump administration’s rocky implementation of a series of new tariffs is “rife with opportunities to unduly influence President Trump and other administration officials,” the Democrats stated in a letter shared first with Hotnchill on Thursday.

The letter, signed by 47 House and Senate members, urges Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to clarify the administration’s “plans to prevent the misuse of tariffs for self-dealing.” This initiative was spearheaded by Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Reps. Judy Chu and Linda Sánchez of California. Other notable signatories include Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Bernie Sanders of Vermont, as well as Reps. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, California’s Jared Huffman, and Al Green of Texas. It is important to note that Sanders is a registered independent who caucuses with the Democrats.

As the minority party in both chambers of Congress, Democrats cannot call hearings or issue subpoenas, which limits their ability to compel a response from the Trump administration. Nonetheless, the letter highlights their focus on Trump’s economic policies as they continue to challenge his administration’s actions during his second term.

In the letter, they argue that Trump’s use of tariffs during his first term demonstrated his willingness to leverage import taxes to reward his political allies and penalize his adversaries. “We fear the administration is once again turning its tariffs policy into an underground market of exemptions in exchange for financial and political favors,” the letter states.

They reference the recent decision to exempt smartphones and other electronics from his so-called reciprocal tariffs, noting that this exemption had a positive impact on the stock prices of companies like Apple, whose CEO, Tim Cook, “has cultivated his relationship with the President in recent months.”

The Democrats also caution that Trump’s tariffs “are inviting corruption not only through quid-pro-quo arrangements but also through officials’ personal investments,” as his frequently changing trade policy “opens the door to rampant insider trading.” They are seeking answers from Lutnick, Bessent, and Greer by April 29 regarding how the administration plans to manage potential tariff exemptions.