Trump administration equity portfolio grows. These are investments so far
The Trump administration made unprecedented equity investments last year and acquired other stakes in at least 10 companies.
Many are involved in critical mining companies, as the White House plans a strategy to directly support mining companies to create a domestic supply chain and reduce dependence on China.
But the investments also include chip makers and possibly a nuclear reactor company. In the case of US Steel, management assumed a governance stake rather than a direct economic interest.
Scott Lincicome, a researcher and business lawyer at the libertarian Cato Institute, said the number of investments is extraordinary outside of war or economic crisis.
And management’s portfolio can continue to grow. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CNBC last August that the government could take stakes in major defense suppliers such as: LockheedMartin.
Peter Harrell, who served as senior director for international economics during the President Joe Biden administration, said that the United States has temporarily taken shares from companies within the scope of rescue packages in the past.
“It’s very different with these companies,” Harrell said. “The government acts as a sort of strategic investor, putting capital into these companies so that these companies can generate both commercial returns and, at least in theory, some form of profit. [of] National goal.”
USA Steel
President Trump obtained a “golden stake” in U.S. Steel as a condition of approving Nippon Steel’s acquisition of the historic producer.
A golden share is a management stake that gives the president veto power over major business decisions. It is not a direct economic stake in US Steel.
The President can veto decisions to close, decommission, or sell U.S. Steel facilities. It could also prevent U.S. Steel from changing its name, moving its headquarters from Pittsburgh or moving the company outside the United States.
U.S. Steel ceased trading on the NYSE in June 2025 after becoming a subsidiary of Nippon.
Multi-Purpose Materials
Multi-Purpose Materials is a critical mineral company headquartered in Las Vegas and operating the only commercial rare earth mine in the United States in Mountain Pass, California. Its market capitalization is over $10 billion.
The Department of Defense struck a landmark deal with MP in July 2025 that included stock, a floor price and an agreement to purchase a portion of future production.
The Pentagon agreed to purchase $400 million in preferred stock and was entitled to a warrant allowing it to purchase additional shares. MP said in July that exercising those options would give the Pentagon a 15% stake, positioning it as the company’s single largest shareholder.
Intel
Ministry of Commerce acquired 10 percent shares Intel It purchased 433.3 million shares of the chip maker in August 2025 at $20.47 per share.
Funding for the investment came from $5.7 billion in government grants under the CHIPS Act and $3.2 billion in federal awards under a program to secure chips.
Shares have no voting rights and do not include management rights, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CNBC last August.
Lithium America
Lithium America is a critical mineral initiative no income It is developing a lithium mine called Thacker Pass in Nevada’s Humboldt County. It has a market capitalization of $1.5 billion.
The Department of Energy also took a 5% stake in Lithium Americas and a 5% economic stake in its joint venture with General Motors to develop Thacker Pass. In exchange, the department agreed to defer debt service on $182 million of the $2.3 billion federal loan over five years.
“If we are going to defer some of the refund to later years, then the administration is going to want a very small equity stake, essentially to create a cash buffer and eliminate some of the risk on behalf of taxpayers,” a Trump administration official told CNBC in September.
Lithium Americas is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. It is traded on both the Toronto Stock Exchange and the NYSE.
Trinity Metals
Trilogy Metals is another critical minerals startup with no revenue. It aims to develop a mining project in Alaska called the Upper Kobuk Mining Projects, using the controversial 321-kilometer-long Ambler Trail to extract copper and other materials.
President Donald Trump approved permits For the construction of Ambler Road in October, the administration invested $35.6 million in the project. The investment makes the US government a 10% shareholder in Trilogy and guarantees it will buy an additional 7.5% of the company.
Trilogy is headquartered in Vancouver and traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange and NYSE.
USA Rare Earth
USA Rare Earth is another critical mineral startup that has yet to generate any revenue. It is developing a magnet manufacturing facility in Stillwater, Oklahoma, and plans to build a rare earth mine in Texas at a deposit called Round Top. USA Rare Earth’s market capitalization is $4.6 billion.
The Department of Commerce issued a letter of intent on January 26 to provide a $1.3 billion loan and $277 million in federal funding to U.S. Rare Earths.
In return, USA Rare Earth will issue 16.1 million shares and 17.6 million warrants to the United States. Depending on whether the warrants are exercised or not, the government will own an 8% to 16% stake in the company.
CEO Barbara Humpton told CNBC in an interview that the government is “interested in economic interest, not management interest.”
westinghouse
Westinghouse is a private nuclear reactor developer. Owned by a publicly traded company camecoa Canadian uranium miner and Brookfield Asset Management.
The Commerce Department signed an $80 billion deal with Cameco and Brookfield in October to finance the construction of Westinghouse nuclear power plants.
Under the agreement, the government is given a participating interest in Westinghouse and can request an initial public offering in or before January 2029 if the company’s value exceeds $30 billion.
The government could have an 8% stake in Westinghouse under that scenario, Cameco Chief Operating Officer Grant Isaac said in the company’s third-quarter earnings call in November 2025.
Vulcan Elements
Vulcan Elements is a privately held enterprise based in Durham, North Carolina. Vulcan entered $1.4 billion partnership With the US government and ReElement Technologies to create a domestic rare earth magnet supply chain.
Vulcan will build a 10,000 metric ton magnet facility in the United States. It will receive a $620 million loan from the Pentagon, $550 million in incentives from the Department of Commerce and $550 million in private capital.
Under the agreement, Commerce will receive a $50 million equity stake in Vulcan and the Pentagon will obtain clearance for the company.
XLlight
XLight is a privately held company headquartered in Palo Alto, California, that develops free electron lasers for manufacturing semiconductors.
The Ministry of Commerce issued a statement in December. letter of intent Provide up to $150 million in federal incentives to xLight. In return, Commerce will receive a $150 million equity stake in xLight.
L3Harris
L3Harris Technologies It is a defense company with a market value of over $65 billion.
An announced proposed partnership An agreement was reached with the US government in December under which the Pentagon would invest $1 billion in the rocket engine business, whose engines are used in missile systems.
Under the terms of the investment, L3Harris will launch the initial public offering of its missile business in the second half of 2026, at which point the Pentagon’s $1 billion investment will convert into equity capital of the spin-off division.
