Democracy Dies in Darkness

Trump nominee at U.S. export bank withdraws amid scrutiny of Russia ties

Bryce McFerran is a former senior executive at a steel-trading business co-owned by one of Russia’s richest oligarchs and is married to a member of a Russian family with extensive ties to the Kremlin.

October 29, 2025 at 5:43 p.m. EDTToday at 5:43 p.m. EDT

7 min

Bryce McFerran is the acting chief banking officer at the U.S. Export-Import Bank. (Export-Import Bank of the United States)

By Catherine Belton

Ben Stockton

and

Greg Miller

The Trump administration’s nominee for a top federal position promoting international commerce has withdrawn his candidacy amid scrutiny of his role as a senior executive at a steel-trading business co-owned by one of Russia’s richest oligarchs, and his relations by marriage to a Russian family with extensive ties to the Kremlin.

By Catherine Belton

Catherine Belton is an international investigative reporter for The Washington Post, reporting on Russia. She is the author of “Putin's People,” a New York Times Critics’ Book of 2020 and a book of the year for the Times, the Economist and the Financial Times. Belton has worked for Reuters and the Financial Times.@CatherineBelton

By Greg Miller

Greg Miller is an investigative foreign correspondent based in London for The Washington Post and a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize. He is the author of “The Apprentice,” a book on Russia’s interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential race and the fallout under the Trump administration.@gregpmiller

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