Top congressional Democrats are asking the US Government Accountability Office to investigate whether the Trump administration has protected taxpayer funds and managed conflicts of interest related to government equity stakes in mining companies.
Senator Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, the top Democrat on the US Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and Representative Jared Huffman of California, the top Democrat on the US House Natural Resources Committee, said in an Aug. 12 news release that they requested the review in an Aug. 7 letter to the nonpartisan congressional watchdog agency, known as the GAO.
The lawmakers asked the GAO to examine whether federal agencies are properly assessing the financial risks of investments, implementing transparency measures, protecting taxpayer dollars and preventing conflicts of interest that could arise when the federal government acts as both an investor and regulator of mining projects.
The letter is the latest effort by Democrats to question government involvement in metals and mining deals, which the Trump administration has prioritized as part of broader efforts to secure critical supply chains and boost domestic manufacturing.
In February, a group of Democratic lawmakers sought documents on recent federal government equity stakes in mining and metals companies. Democrats also sent a letter in July regarding potential conflicts of interest involving rare earth miner USA Rare Earth Inc. and, earlier in August, related to federal support for critical mineral companies.
Heinrich and Huffman called on the GAO to investigate whether safeguards, transparency mechanisms and internal coordinating processes are in place, particularly as they relate to mining operations on federal lands.
"As billions of public dollars flow into these private ventures, oversight is needed to ensure the transparency of these investments, manage inherent conflicts of interest, and protect taxpayer funds from potential fraud, waste, abuse, and corruption," they wrote.
The White House disagreed with the lawmakers' characterizations.
"The only special interest guiding the Trump administration's decision-making is the best interest of the American people," White House spokesperson Kush Desai said in an emailed statement. "Securing and reshoring America's critical supply chains has been a top priority for President Trump, and the entire Administration continues to take historic action to safeguard America's national and economic security and ensure America is no longer dependent on foreign countries."
Conditions of $620M loan questioned
Huffman also joined Representative Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, in sending an Aug. 11 letter to rare earth magnet company Vulcan Elements Holdings Corp.
The lawmakers demanded documents from Vulcan Elements CEO John Maslin related to a $620 million US Department of Defense loan that they say resulted from White House intervention and a $50 million equity stake from the US Department of Commerce, citing third-party reporting.
Huffman and Garcia highlighted reports from nonprofit news outlet ProPublica that Vulcan Elements is backed in part by President Donald Trump's son and questioned reports that Peter Navarro, the White House senior counselor for trade and manufacturing, intervened to help secure the award.
"Vulcan did not ask or solicit its investors to facilitate the Pentagon loan announced in November," a company spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
The Pentagon selected Vulcan for the investment after a year-long review by multiple government agencies, the spokesperson said.
“The ProPublica reporting indicates that ... Navarro’s intervention on behalf of a company in which the president’s son held a financial stake was not coincidental to the award process; it was the extent of the award process,” Huffman and Garcia wrote.
Three Democratic US senators in late July questioned the Vulcan Elements loan.
Maslin met with Democratic staff of the Natural Resources Committee in April, during which he said Vulcan Elements received no political favoritism related to federal awards. At the time, Maslin pledged to produce four sets of related documents, but, according to an Aug. 11 release from Huffman's office, never did.
In the letter, Huffman and Garcia demanded the four documents and an additional 13 records by Aug. 25.
