Republican Senator Calls For Donald Trump Jr. Subpoena

WASHINGTON ― A Republican senator thinks President Donald Trump’s son needs to explain why a Russian oligarch helped pay for his wedding weekend earlier this year.

Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah) told Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) in a letter that Republicans should apply the same scrutiny to Donald Trump Jr. that they applied to former President Joe Biden’s son ― meaning Republicans should hit Jr. with a subpoena.

“A toaster is a wedding gift. A private-island party paid for by a Putin-connected oligarch is something else,” Curtis said on social media. “Republicans nearly wore out the subpoena machine investigating Hunter Biden’s foreign relationships. We should not unplug it now.”

The Curtis letter is a striking break from the Republican Party, which has acted as though the Trump family’s brazen self-enrichment schemes are normal after having pursued an impeachment inquiry into corruption allegations against Joe Biden that were far less obvious.

The tipping point for Curtis may have been the president’s son’s acceptance of lavish wedding gifts from a foreign national, but the Utah Republican also mentions his “active promotion of family-backed cryptocurrency ventures, his continued pursuit of international real estate deals involving direct meetings with foreign heads of state, and his reported investments in defense contracting.” Curtis also called out Jr.’s dalliance with “prediction market” gambling companies that have benefitted massively from favorable federal policy.

Curtis avoided mentioning how the president himself earned more than $1 billion from the family crypto business in just 2025.

It’s highly unlikely Republicans will launch an investigation into the president’s family. To make the proposal more palatable, Curtis suggested subpoenas for both Hunter Biden and Trump’s son. He noted, however, that Hunter Biden and many of his business associates already received subpoenas in 2023 and that Hunter Biden sat for a deposition early in 2024.

Republicans grilled Hunter Biden and his associates over business deals and meetings conducted with foreign nationals while Joe Biden was in politics, ultimately failing to uncover clear evidence of Joe Biden doing official favors for his son’s business contacts. A key witness turned out to have fabricated a bribery allegation about the Bidens, and the impeachment inquiry folded without a vote.

ProPublica reported last week that Umar Kremlev, a Russian oligarch with ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, rented a private island and paid for a fireworks display in honor of Donald Trump Jr.’s wedding earlier this year. (Donald Trump claimed last week his son paid Kremlev back for the gift.) Though they scrutinized Hunter Biden’s lucrative contacts with foreign nationals years before Joe Biden became president, Republicans have had little to say about the current president’s son’s various business deals and his generous wedding gift.

“The country should not have to accept one standard for the family of a Republican president and another for the family of a Democratic president,” Curtis wrote. “Nor should congressional oversight begin and end when control of the White House changes hands.”

Spokespeople for Grassley did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The White House also did not immediately respond.

Though Republicans likely won’t investigate Trump, Democrats certainly will if they retake control of Congress after November’s midterm elections. Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, told Trump’s son last week to preserve records related to his wedding gift in advance of a possible subpoena.