US House Democrat blasts Commerce's 'highly concerning' $1.6 billion USA Rare Earth deal

By Jarrett Renshaw, Ernest Scheyder and Gram Slattery

WASHINGTON, March 20 (Reuters) - A senior House Democrat accused U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Thursday of structuring Washington's $1.58 billion investment into USA Rare Earth in a way that gives the government "highly ‌concerning" leverage over the company while boosting Lutnick's family-run investment firm.

In a 10-page letter, Representative Zoe Lofgren, the ranking member of ‌the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, wrote that the proposed deal would let the Commerce Department keep an equity stake even if it decides not to ​invest while also leaving the company reliant on a $1.5 billion private capital raise led by Cantor Fitzgerald, the financial firm previously led by Lutnick and now run by his sons.

"This deal creates a massive personal conflict by granting the Secretary of Commerce overwhelming leverage to influence the behavior of a private company while positioning him to promote the interests of his sons as a condition of his support," wrote Lofgren, a California Democrat.

The letter offers ‌a glimpse into the types of investigations Democrats ⁠could pursue if they regain power in Washington after the November midterm elections, as lawmakers scrutinize the administration's aggressive use of federal financing and equity stakes to reshape supply chains for critical minerals and other strategic ⁠industries.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-house-democrat-blasts-commerces-163029362.html