Top advisers have sent President Trump a plan to create a government-run investment fund, a request the president made earlier this year — but the White House has rejected parts of the proposal, CBS News has learned.
Mr. Trump asked Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to jointly develop a proposal for a U.S. sovereign wealth fund by early May.
It has been submitted, multiple sources told CBS News on Wednesday. However, the White House had concerns about the approach taken by Treasury, one of the sources said.
Details on the mechanics of the fund continue to be debated, and no announcement is imminent, one source said.
“In accordance with President Trump’s executive order, the Treasury and Commerce Departments have formulated plans for a Sovereign Wealth Fund, but no final decisions have yet been made,” White House spokesperson Kush Desai said in a statement. “The Administration remains committed to using every tool available to deliver on President Trump’s directive to safeguard America’s national and economic security.”
A Treasury spokesperson declined to comment.
Trump has teased a “very big announcement” before he leaves for the Middle East next week, but it’s unrelated to the proposed sovereign wealth fund, two sources said. “It’s going to be a truly earth-shattering and positive development for this country and for the people of this country,” he said in the Oval Office on Tuesday.
Mr. Trump has not determined how proceeds from the sovereign wealth fund would be spent, sources said. In the past, he has suggested the fund could own a stake in TikTok, the popular social media platform that faces a U.S. ban unless China-based parent company ByteDance divests from it.
Sovereign wealth funds typically invest assets from a country’s natural resources with an aim to make returns that would provide a public windfall. Some of the best-known funds are financed by revenue from gas or oil, including Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and Norway’s sovereign wealth fund. These funds can help insulate countries from swings in the value of natural resources, provide funds for government expenditures and allow future generations to benefit from current oil and gas revenue.
In February, Mr. Trump issued an executive order that directed the Treasury and Commerce secretaries, in close coordination with the National Economic Council’s Kevin Hassett, to draft a plan for the sovereign wealth fund within 90 days.
“Such plan shall include recommendations for funding mechanisms, investment strategies, fund structure, and a governance model,” the order stated. “The plan shall also include an evaluation of the legal considerations for establishing and managing such a fund, including any need for legislation.”
