US lawmakers seek review of contracts involving companies backed by Trump’s sons — The Guardian
In the United States, Democratic lawmakers have asked the Pentagon’s inspector general to review the department’s approach to companies whose investors include the sons of President Donald Trump. As The Guardian reports, they are concerned that Pentagon rules do not distinguish between ordinary contractors and companies in which the president’s son has invested.
Loan and defense contracts
In December, the Pentagon announced a $620 million loan to Vulcan Elements, a startup that produces rare-earth magnets for data centers, drones and defense systems. According to the publication, this is the largest loan in the history of the U.S. Department of Defense’s Office of Strategic Capital. Three months before it was announced, the venture firm 1789 Capital, whose partners include Donald Trump Jr., acquired a stake in Vulcan Elements.
A ProPublica investigation found that the loan request came from senior White House adviser Peter Navarro, whom the publication describes as a close friend of Trump Jr. One ProPublica source said Pentagon employees were instructed to advance the deal at an extraordinarily rapid pace. A representative for Trump Jr., the Pentagon and Vulcan Elements said that he was not involved in the deal and that the company did not receive political favoritism.
Eric Trump is the chief strategy adviser to the robotics startup Foundation Future Industries, which received a $24 million U.S. Marine Corps contract. Drone manufacturer Powerus, backed by both brothers, has a $90 million U.S. Air Force contract. Senator Elizabeth Warren called the award to Foundation Future Industries corruption, though this is her assessment.
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AI policy
The Trump administration opposes new restrictions on artificial intelligence, explaining this by U.S. competition with China. Trump wrote on Truth Social that, in his view, AI needs only a strong and smart president, and also claimed there was a conspiracy against AI and data centers.
A poll released this week showed that 11% of Americans support building a data center in their community, while 65% oppose it. On the same day, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 417 to three in favor of requiring data centers to pay for the power grid upgrades needed for their operation.
The Guardian also writes that David Sacks, who previously served in the White House as the official responsible for AI and cryptocurrencies, persuaded Trump in May to abandon an executive order on expanded scrutiny of AI models. According to The Wall Street Journal, some administration officials examined whether Sacks could personally benefit from blocking new rules. The company of Michael Dell, a longtime friend and donor of Trump, received a Pentagon contract worth nearly $9 billion in May, raising questions among ethics watchdog organizations.
