Washington DC [US], November 13 : US Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer on Thursday (local time) hit back at President Donald Trump over his remarks accusing Democrat-led states of widespread corruption.
Schumer listed several alleged financial controversies involving the President and announced plans to ban stock trading by members of Congress and White House officials.
In a post on X, Schumer accused Trump of benefiting from stock trading, cryptocurrency ventures, a luxury aircraft gifted by Qatar and other alleged financial dealings, while asserting that Senate Democrats would push for greater accountability from the administration.
“I’m actually referring to your 30,000 stock trades (more than all Members of Congress combined), your Qatari-gifted luxury jet, your crypto scams, your Truth Social pay to play scheme, your billionaire-funded ballroom, your insurrectionist slush fund, and your pardons for big donors—just to name a few,” Schumer said.
He further announced that Senate Democrats would seek to prohibit stock trading by all members of Congress and White House officials, accusing the Trump administration of engaging in practices that have increased financial pressures on American families.
“Senate Democrats will ban stock trading for all Members of Congress and White House officials, and hold you and your administration accountable for all the ways your rampant corruption has made life more expensive for families,” he added.
Schumer's response came after Trump, in a post on Truth Social, accused Democrat-led states, including California, Minnesota, Illinois, Maine and New York, of widespread corruption and alleged that billions of dollars were being stolen.
“Senator Chuck Schumer just stated that he wants to end corruption in the United States. I assume he’s referring to Democrat run Blue States such as California, Minnesota, Illinois, Maine, and New York. Billions of Dollars are being stolen on an hourly basis. Hopefully his words will ring true! It will be an honor to work with him on this very big Democrat problem that, when solved, will literally balance the Budget of the U.S.,” Trump said.
The exchange comes amid an escalating political confrontation between Schumer and Trump over allegations of corruption, financial conflicts of interest and national security concerns.
Earlier, on November 11, Schumer accused Trump of failing to address potential national security risks surrounding Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's alleged relationship with Alice Huang, a Chinese businesswoman suspected by US intelligence officials of having links to Chinese intelligence.
Schumer alleged that Trump had been briefed more than a year ago about the relationship but failed to take appropriate action.
“Trump was briefed over A YEAR AGO on Nvidia’s CEO having an affair with a Chinese spy. He did nothing about it. Instead, Trump took him to Beijing, took his advice to give China access to our AI chips, & accepted a $25M donation from Nvidia,” Schumer had said, demanding answers over what he described as a failure to protect national security.
The controversy has also prompted scrutiny of the Trump administration's export policies concerning advanced artificial intelligence chips, with Democratic lawmakers questioning Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick over authorisations for semiconductor exports.
Meanwhile, Schumer is also facing an internal leadership challenge from Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen, who has announced his candidacy for Senate Democratic leader, calling for new leadership following the party's electoral performance.
Schumer, who has led Senate Democrats since 2017, has maintained that he has sufficient support to retain his position. The Democratic caucus is expected to hold its leadership vote in December.