In New Response to Warren and Blumenthal, Treasury Department Dodges Responsibility to Conduct National Security Review of Paramount-Warner Bros. Deal

In New Response to Warren and Blumenthal, Treasury Department Dodges Responsibility to Conduct National Security Review of Paramount-Warner Bros. Deal

Paramount's winning bid reportedly backed by $24 billion from Middle East sovereign wealth funds

Could give foreign actors access to Americans' sensitive personal data, influence over giant media conglomerate

Text of Response (PDF)

Washington, D.C. - In response to pressure from U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), the Treasury Department dodged its responsibility to conduct a serious national security review of Paramount's winning bid for Warner Bros.

As of December 2025, the deal included $24 billion from sovereign wealth funds in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi, leading the Senators to press Scott Bessent, Treasury Secretary and Chair of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), to carefully examine whether the deal is subject to a CFIUS review, and if so, to conduct it in a comprehensive, thorough, and non-politicized manner. In a new response sent to the lawmakers one day after Paramount won the Warner Bros. bidding war, the Treasury Department dodged questions and did not commit to a review.

"Given the cloud of corruption surrounding the Trump administration's review of this deal from Day One, it's no surprise that Trump's Treasury Department is sticking its head in the sand instead of investigating the national security risks of $24 billion from Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds apparently flooding this deal. It's American consumers who will pay the price," said Senator Warren. "Thanks to Donald Trump, a Paramount-Warner Bros. merger could mean higher prices, fewer choices, and more foreign actors controlling what's on our screens."

"The Trump Administration's consideration of Netflix's bid was conspicuously tainted by political interference and outright corruption. I have no confidence that Secretary Bessent, or Attorney General Bondi, will enforce our antitrust and national security laws when it comes to President Trump's financial backers. The cost of that rubberstamp will be higher prices on consumers, substantial job loss in Hollywood, and Gulf countries buying even more influence over Americans' entertainment," said Senator Blumenthal.

In addition to the significant antitrust concerns raised by the Paramount bid, the lawmakers in December raised alarm about the bid's foreign funding. If such a sale were to go through, it could potentially provide foreign entities with access to the sensitive personal data of millions of Americans and significant influence over one of the nation's largest media and entertainment conglomerates. CFIUS is responsible for mitigating national security risks of specific types of foreign investments in the United States and, in certain circumstances, blocking foreign acquisitions of American companies or technologies.

The Warner Bros. bidding war is already clouded by corruption concerns. Netflix's CEO dropped the company's bid hours after he reportedly met with Trump officials at the White House. Paramount Skydance is run by a member of the Trump-affiliated Ellison family, who reportedly agreed to a secret side deal to run Trump-friendly ads shortly before the Trump administration greenlit the merger of Paramount and Skydance. Paramount previously paid $16 million to the Trump Presidential Library to settle a lawsuit brought by President Trump.

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