U.S. Representative Thomas Massie (R-KY) doesn’t see eye-to-eye with President Trump and his cabinet members on many levels. In addition to voicing opposition to Attorney General Pam Bondi‘s compliance concerning the release of the Epstein Files as required by law, Massie is also objecting to Trump selling seized Venezuelan oil and depositing the first $500 million in proceeds into a Qatari bank trust.
Today, Massie wrote on social media: “Selling stolen oil and putting billions of dollars in a bank in Qatar to be spent without Congressional approval is not Constitutional. Only Congress can appropriate money. The President can’t legally create a second Treasury overseas for his own piggy bank. Wake up Congress.”
Selling stolen oil and putting billions of dollars in a bank in Qatar to be spent without Congressional approval is not Constitutional.
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) January 20, 2026
Only Congress can appropriate money.
The President can’t legally create a second Treasury overseas for his own piggy bank.
Wake up Congress.
The Trump administration claims that the offshore account deters creditors from collecting money Venezuela owes them.
Trump’s Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said last week that the cash from the oil sales would be sent to Venezuela’s government as soon as this week, where reportedly security, food, and medicine will be given priority.
Yet even if the funds are remitted to Venezuela, emptying what Massie calls Trump’s “piggy bank,” there remain, according to an expert quoted by CNN, “legitimate concerns that Venezuelan acting President Delcy Rodriguez will use funds flowing back to Venezuela to continue to pay off the corrupt parts of the government structure, including paramilitary groups and drug cartels, to maintain control of the country.”
Massie isn’t alone in his concerns about the legality of the Qatar account. U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) joined the Republican in contesting the handling of the revenue from the seized assets. Warren wrote: “There is no basis in law for a president to set up an offshore account that he controls so that he can sell assets seized by the American military.” She added, “That is precisely a move that a corrupt politician would be attracted to.”
