The Hill: Democrats question reported White House intervention in loan for Donald Trump Jr.

Several Democratic lawmakers are demanding answers following a report that a White House official intervened to grant a $620 million Pentagon loan to a company linked to President Trump’s eldest son. 

“We write to demand a full explanation for what appears to be an egregious example of Trump administration corruption involving the White House delivering a lucrative Defense Department loan to a company with financial ties to the Trump family,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter to White House chief of staff Susie Wiles on Tuesday. 

The Democrats include Sens. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), Richard Blumenthal (Conn.) and Mazie Hirono (Hawaii) and Reps. Jason Crow (Colo.) and Mike Levin (Calif.).

Vulcan Elements, a rare-earth magnet startup based in North Carolina, announced last November it had received $620 million in a direct loan from the Pentagon and an additional $50 million from the Commerce Department. The company said in a press release at the time it would use these funds to produce 10,000 metric tons of magnet production in the U.S. annually.  

A ProPublica investigation published last week revealed Donald Trump Jr.’s venture capital firm, 1789 Capital, took an undisclosed stake in the company around three months before this deal was closed.

Additionally, the outlet reported the lending request was made by Peter Navarro, the president’s senior counselor for trade and manufacturing. 

“The American public — and service members that are in harm’s way — expect that the DoD contracting process is fair, unbiased, and competitive to ensure that only the best companies, providing only the best products, receive taxpayer dollars,” the Democratic lawmakers wrote in their Tuesday letter to Wiles. 

“But if this report is accurate, it reveals a staggering level of corruption and influence peddling that superseded this process, enriching the President’s son at the expense of U.S. national security and taxpayer dollars,” they continued. 

Democratic congressional members requested that Wiles respond to several questions about the White House’s and Navarro’s alleged involvement in this Pentagon loan by June 16. 

The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment.