White House push sped up Vulcan loan amid conflicts

A $620 million Pentagon loan to Vulcan Elements—a rare-earth magnet startup tied to Donald Trump Jr.—moved unusually fast after a request from White House adviser Peter Navarro, raising renewed questions about whether federal funding was steered by personal co

When the Pentagon moved to fund Vulcan Elements last year, the process didn’t crawl the way defense projects often do. It surged.

Defense officials and the company later worked to stamp down suspicions of cronyism. Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, said through a spokesperson that he wasn’t involved. The Pentagon said Trump Jr. played no role in the record-setting $620 million loan. Vulcan’s founder also told reporters the company received no political favoritism.

But Pentagon records and interviews reviewed by ProPublica show the request to push the hundreds of millions of dollars to Vulcan did not originate in the usual places. It was made by Peter Navarro—then a White House adviser to President Donald Trump and a friend of Trump Jr.’s.

Navarro’s involvement sits at the center of a wider fight over whether the Trump administration’s push to secure rare-earth supply chains—critical for national security—has been entangled with family-linked business interests. The Vulcan deal is one of multiple actions during the Trump administration that benefited companies in which Trump family members hold stakes. and it is the first time the awarding of a contract from a federal agency has been directly linked to White House intervention.

The Pentagon’s Office of Strategic Capital—created under the Biden administration to tackle bipartisan fears that China’s dominance in rare-earth elements threatens national security—made the Vulcan deal part of a broader strategy. In November, the Pentagon announced plans to lend $620 million to Vulcan and $80 million to its partner, ReElement. The Commerce Department would provide $50 million in incentives. In return, the government would take a $50 million stake in Vulcan, with a right to buy more later.

For Vulcan, launched in 2023 by a student at Harvard Business School, the numbers translated into an extraordinary leap. The company said it would use the windfall to build a large new facility that would churn out thousands of tons of magnets a year. It planned to ramp up in coming years and add hundreds of new jobs. At the time of the deal, Vulcan had fewer than 50 employees.

The company’s timeline also tracks with mounting scrutiny. Vulcan’s first manufacturing facility opened in March 2025. In an interview with its founder published that month, the firm’s funding at the time was less than $10 million. In August 2025, Vulcan announced $65 million in investments, including from 1789 Capital—the venture firm where Trump Jr. joined as a partner after his father was elected to a second term. Neither 1789 nor Vulcan has publicly disclosed how much of a stake 1789 Capital has taken.

Navarro did not respond to questions sent directly to him, and Vulcan did not respond either.

In the White House response. a spokesperson said the administration is working “in the best interest of the American people. ” adding that “The President’s entire team. including Senior Counselor Navarro and officials at the Department of War. is working together and with private industry to secure America’s critical mineral supply chain at Trump Speed.”.

Trump Jr.’s spokesperson framed it differently. The son “does not discuss companies he has invested in with federal government officials,” and the spokesperson said he did not speak to Navarro about Vulcan and “has no knowledge about how this deal came together.”

A Pentagon spokesperson rejected the idea that connections mattered, saying, “No company receives preferential treatment. Outside affiliations, investors, or political connections play absolutely no role in the Department’s funding decisions.”

A venture firm representative offered the same denial from the private side. A spokesperson for 1789 Capital said it played no role in Vulcan getting the loan and did not learn about the deal before it was public.

The record reviewed here presents the sequence as far more personal—and far more urgent—than the denials suggest.

Staff in the Office of Strategic Capital learned of the White House request around September or October. according to an official involved in the deal at the Pentagon. It was unclear how the request was delivered or whether it was presented as an order or recommendation. Normally. companies considered for funding are vetted for many months. the person said. but this loan was completed in weeks because officials were told it was a White House priority.

Two people described the pressure that followed. One said after defense officials got the White House request. they asked Pentagon staff to move at an unusually rapid pace. The staff worked late nights with little sleep to get the loan through in a matter of weeks. The person said, “The call came from the White House: We have to get this done.”.

That speed matters in the broader political argument now playing out on Capitol Hill.

Richard Painter, who served as chief White House ethics lawyer during the George W. Bush administration, said White House aides should not be intervening in contracting and lending decisions by agencies, particularly when the federal money can financially benefit the president’s family.

“This is our money they’re spending,” Painter said. “This is corruption we pay for.”

Democratic lawmakers have pressed hard on accountability. A group of Democratic senators demanded that the Pentagon provide an accounting of how Vulcan was awarded the loan. writing that the Trump family’s conflicts of interest could be “resulting in a waste of taxpayer dollars and a threat to national security.” The Pentagon’s response did not address how Vulcan was selected; it explained only how the department addresses conflicts that arise from its employees’ financial holdings. not those of the president’s family.

Democrats in the House also tried to subpoena Trump Jr. to testify on the Vulcan deal but were blocked by Republicans. Earlier this year, Oregon Rep. Maxine Dexter said, “Donald Trump Jr. must be made to answer whether the president’s son illegally profited from his father’s presidency.”

The stakes go beyond any single company.

The Office of Strategic Capital was created to respond to the danger of relying too heavily on a single foreign supplier for rare-earth materials. China produced the world’s entire supply of samarium as of last year—a rare-earth metal essential for magnets that help guide Tomahawk missiles and start the engines in F-35 fighter jets. Other rare earths are central to products ranging from car parts and semiconductors to drones.

Finding raw materials may be manageable. Separating rare earths from other materials they’re bonded to is different—and China dominates that part of the supply chain. The risk was underscored when China announced last year it was restricting exports of some rare-earth metals.

The Trump administration’s change to Strategic Capital’s scale and method has been a key part of the criticism. The Trump administration expanded the office’s lending authority from about $1 billion to $200 billion. and. according to interviews with more than a dozen people who worked there or interacted with it. it radically changed how the office operated.

Under the Biden administration, an open application process let interested companies apply and be vetted methodically. People involved described that approach as slow and bureaucratic. Under Trump. the office’s leadership moved to search the market rather than wait for applications. according to a former Office of Strategic Capital official who said. “The Trump administration is more interested in going out into the market and finding what it wants. We’re not going to wait for people to apply to us.”.

The office handed the reins to former Wall Street executives. and the administration leaned into a networking-driven model. with people involved saying they relied more on personal networks than on applications. A leaked presentation from a headhunter suggested that time in government could open future fundraising channels that include “royal families and foreign sovereign contacts.” It is unclear whether the Pentagon approved that presentation.

So far. outside of Vulcan. the office has selected a small number of other companies including Korea Zinc. a metal refiner; MP Materials. a Nevada rare-earth mining company; and ReElement Technologies. an Indiana producer of rare-earth elements and battery metals that partners with Vulcan. The Pentagon’s announcement said the loans to Vulcan and ReElement were conditional on the firms fulfilling certain legal and financial requirements but did not detail them.

ReElement is also facing uncertainty. Last week, Bloomberg reported the Pentagon may not lend to ReElement due to concerns over the company’s revenue projections and ability to scale up its technology that were discovered after the conditional loan was announced.

But Vulcan, because of its size, speed, and connection to Trump Jr., is where the controversy has crystallized.

Navarro’s relationship with Trump Jr. has long been public in their own circles. The two have formed a close bond in recent years. Trump Jr. visited Navarro in prison while Navarro served time for defying a subpoena from lawmakers investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Trump Jr. was among the small group Navarro dedicated his latest book to for having “my back when it was against the wall.” A week before the Vulcan deal was announced. Trump Jr. hosted Navarro—now the president’s senior counselor for trade and manufacturing—on his streaming show. encouraging his nearly 2 million subscribers to buy Navarro’s book.

That interview came not long after Navarro’s word appears to have reached the Pentagon.

Navarro’s role is also tied to his recurring public focus on rare earths. In an October episode of Trump Jr.’s streaming show “Triggered,” the two discussed rare earths. Navarro said. “China has revealed itself with this rare-earth issue as a country which is using the weaponization of their manufacturing floor. their supply chains. to exert pressure. not just on the United States. but to every other country that might do something that gets in the way of the Chinese dream of world domination. That’s what we’re fighting now.”.

The Pentagon says defense officials balance “lightning speed with rigorous diligence to close high-impact deals that directly strengthen America’s defense and empower our warfighters,” when asked about the expedited pace.

In the same period, the administration has signaled more money is coming. The Office of Strategic Capital is expected to deploy billions more in loans in the coming months to critical mineral and military technology companies.

One example now under scrutiny is Unusual Machines, a Florida drone parts maker. A Defense official said Trump Jr. sits on the company’s advisory board and holds millions of dollars worth of shares. Last year. the Pentagon was accused of cronyism after awarding the company a contract to make drone engines for the Army.

For other companies trying to get Pentagon funding, frustration has already begun to surface. Brodie Sutherland, CEO of Nevada-based tungsten mining company Patriot Critical Minerals, said his firm hired a lobbyist. That lobbyist. Sutherland said. knew someone previously connected to the Office of Strategic Capital and was able to introduce the company to a current staffer.

“It’s like any industry: A lot of what it is,” Sutherland said, “is who you know.” Speaking to ProPublica last month, he said his company had conversations with Pentagon staff and was optimistic about future funding.

“Whether you need someone on the inside track to get it across the line I don’t know,” he said. “We’re hopeful you don’t need to be chums with Trump Jr. to get a project across.”

Defense Department records reviewed recently by ProPublica show Sutherland’s company had been considered for a loan but was rejected. The records did not say why. Sutherland said he still hoped his company could secure some kind of Pentagon funding in the future.

In Vulcan’s case. the question isn’t whether rare-earth magnets matter—American officials have said for years that they do. The question now is what happens when an urgent national-security goal intersects with White House involvement and family-linked companies—especially when one message to the public says the process is clean. and another set of documents suggests the pace was forced from above.

Vulcan Elements Peter Navarro Donald Trump Jr. Office of Strategic Capital Pentagon loan rare earth magnets ReElement Technologies 1789 Capital critical minerals Tomahawk F-35 cronyism