The Trump administration has made unprecedented stock investments over the past year, acquiring stakes in at least 10 companies.
Many of them belong to important mineral companies, as the White House plans a strategy to directly support mining companies to build domestic supply chains and reduce dependence on China.
But investments also include chip makers and, in some cases, nuclear reactor companies. In the case of U.S. Steel, the regime has control, not direct economic interest.
Scott Linthicum, a trade lawyer and fellow at the liberal Cato Institute, said the number of investments is unusual outside of times of war or economic crisis.
And the administration’s portfolio may continue to expand. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CNBC last August that the government could acquire stakes in major defense suppliers, including: lockheed martin.
The United States has taken temporary stakes in companies in the past as part of relief efforts, said Peter Harrell, senior director of international economic affairs under President Joe Biden.
“It’s a completely different theme for these companies,” Harrell said. “Governments act as strategic investors, injecting capital into these companies so that they not only serve commercial interests but also, at least in theory, serve some national purpose.”
US Steel
President Trump secured “golden shares” in U.S. Steel as a condition of approving Nippon Steel’s acquisition of the historic manufacturer.
The golden share is the governance interest that gives the president veto power over important management decisions. It is not a direct financial interest of U.S. Steel.
The president can veto decisions to close, suspend, or sell U.S. steel plants. He could also prevent U.S. Steel from changing its name, moving its headquarters from Pittsburgh or moving it outside the United States.
After becoming a subsidiary of Nippon, US Steel ceased trading on the New York Stock Exchange in June 2025.
MP material
MP material is a major minerals company headquartered in Las Vegas and operates the only commercial rare earth mine in the United States in Mountain Pass, California. The market value is over $10 billion.
The Department of Defense signed a landmark agreement with MP in July 2025 that included stock ownership, a price floor, and an agreement to purchase a portion of future production.
The Department of Defense has agreed to purchase $400 million worth of preferred stock and is entitled to a warrant authorizing additional stock purchases. MPs said in July that exercising these options would give the Department of Defense a 15% stake, making it the company’s largest single shareholder.
intel
The Ministry of Commerce acquired a 10% stake. intel In August 2025, it purchased 433.3 million shares of the chipmaker’s common stock at a price of $20.47 per share.
Funding for this investment came from $5.7 billion in federal grants under the CHIPS Act and $3.2 billion in federal grants under the Secure Chips Program.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CNBC last August that the stock has no voting rights and does not include governance rights.
lithium america
lithium america is a non-revenue critical mineral startup developing a lithium mine called Tucker Pass in Humboldt County, Nevada. The market capitalization is $1.5 billion.
The Department of Energy acquired a 5% stake in Lithium Americas for the Tucker Pass development and a 5% economic stake in the joint venture with General Motors. In return, the department agreed to defer $182 million in debt payments on a $2.3 billion federal loan for five years.
“If we’re going to defer some of the repayments to later years, the administration wants to hold a very small amount of stock to basically create a cash buffer and eliminate some of the risk on behalf of the taxpayers,” a Trump administration official told CNBC in September.
Lithium Americas is based in Vancouver, British Columbia. It trades on both the Toronto Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange.
trilogy metal
Trilogy Metals is another non-revenue critical minerals startup. The company aims to develop a mining project in Alaska called the Upper Kobuk Mineral Project that would utilize the controversial 211-mile-long Ambler Road to mine copper and other materials.
President Donald Trump approved construction permits for Ambler Road in October, and his administration invested $35.6 million in the project. The investment will make the U.S. government a 10% shareholder in Trilogy and give it the right to purchase an additional 7.5% of the company’s stock.
Trilogy is also headquartered in Vancouver and traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange.
usa rare earths
usa rare earths is another important minerals startup, but it too is not yet generating revenue. The company 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 USA Rare Earths with a $1.3 billion loan and $277 million in federal funding.
In return, USA Rare Earths will issue 16.1 million shares of common stock and 17.6 million stock acquisition rights to the United States. The government will hold between 8% and 16% of the company’s shares, depending on whether the stock acquisition rights are exercised.
CEO Barbara Hampton said in an interview with CNBC that the government is “focused on the economic interests of business, not the governance interests.”
westinghouse
Westinghouse is a private nuclear reactor development company. Owned by a listed company CamecoCanadian uranium miners, and Brookfield Asset Management.
In October, the Commerce Department signed a deal with Cameco and Brookfield to finance construction of the $80 billion Westinghouse nuclear power plant.
Under the deal, the government will be given the right to participate in Westinghouse and can request an initial public offering by January 2029 if the company’s value exceeds $30 billion.
Under that scenario, Cameco Chief Operating Officer Grant Isaac said during the company’s third-quarter earnings conference in November 2025 that the government could become an 8% shareholder in Westinghouse.
vulcan element
Vulcan Elements is a private startup based in Durham, North Carolina. Vulcan has entered into a $1.4 billion partnership with the U.S. government and Reelement Technologies to build a domestic rare earth magnet supply chain.
Vulcan, which plans to build a 10,000-ton magnet facility in the United States, will receive a $620 million loan from the Department of Defense, $550 million in incentives from the Department of Commerce, and will raise $550 million in private capital.
Under the agreement, Commerce will receive $50 million in Vulcan stock and the Department of Defense will receive stock options in the company.
X light
XLight is a private company headquartered in Palo Alto, California that develops free electron lasers for semiconductor manufacturing.
In December, the Department of Commerce issued a letter of intent offering xLight up to $150 million in federal incentives. In return, Commerce will receive $150 million in xLight stock.
L3 Harris
L3 Harris Technologies is a defense company with a market capitalization of over $65 billion.
In December, the company announced a proposed partnership with the U.S. government in which the Pentagon would invest $1 billion in its rocket motor business, which is used in missile systems.
Under the terms of the investment, L3Harris will launch an initial public offering for its missile business in the second half of 2026, at which point the Department of Defense’s $1 billion investment will be converted into common stock in the spin-off division.
