Greater scrutiny of US President Donald Trump and his family’s business dealings under a Democratic-controlled Congress could affect Washington’s commercial diplomacy and have consequences for Pakistan, American think tank Atlantic Council expert Michael Kugelman has said.
“With Dems soon to control Congress, scrutiny of Trump & his/his family’s business dealings will increase, which may impact his administration’s commercial diplomacy,” he wrote on X on Wednesday.
“If so, that could spell bad news for Pakistan, which has banked heavily on doing business with the administration,” he added.
Kugelman also raised the possibility of greater congressional opposition to Trump’s embrace of Pakistan over concerns about human rights and repression, but cautioned against overstating the likelihood.
Bipartisan appreciation of Pakistan’s role in mediating the Iran war and its strategic importance could limit such opposition, he said.
In a Foreign Policy column published the same day, Kugelman examined the commercial relationship behind his warning, pointing to Washington’s growing interest in Pakistan’s critical minerals, cryptocurrency and energy trade.
A proposed $4.4 billion liquefied natural gas project at Port Qasim illustrated the scale of that engagement. Put forward by a consortium of US companies, the proposal includes a storage terminal and, eventually, a delivery pipeline.
However, Kugelman argued that the administration’s commercial approach depended heavily on Trump’s personal preferences and the economic interests of his family and close associates. Democratic control of Congress could make those dealings harder to pursue, while Trump’s eventual departure would raise further questions about the relationship’s durability.