BREAKING: Trump EXPOSED For Moving $600 Million in Military Funds to his Son's Company
Donald Trump Jr. took an undisclosed stake in a small North Carolina startup. Three months later, the Pentagon announced it would lend that company $620 million. The White House says he had nothing to do with it.
A ProPublica investigation found that isn’t true.
What ProPublica Found
When the Pentagon announced the loan to Vulcan Elements last year, defense officials and the company insisted it had nothing to do with cronyism. Trump Jr.’s spokesperson said he wasn’t involved. The Pentagon said he played no role. The startup’s founder told reporters there was no political favoritism.
Interviews and Defense Department records reviewed by ProPublica tell a different story. The request to loan hundreds of millions of dollars to the firm came from Peter Navarro, a senior White House adviser and a close personal friend of Trump Jr.’s.
Of the dozens of companies the Pentagon was considering funding at the time, Vulcan’s was the only deal initiated by a top aide to the president, according to a Pentagon official.
“The Call Came From the White House”
Once the request came in, the process changed entirely.
Pentagon staff moved at an unusually rapid pace once they received the White House request, according to someone directly involved in the deal. Staff worked late nights with little sleep to push the loan through in a matter of weeks.
“The call came from the White House: We have to get this done,” the source said.
This is not just another instance of a Trump-linked company benefiting from administration policy. It is, according to ProPublica, the first time a federal agency contract has been directly traced back to White House intervention on behalf of a Trump family business.
The Money
Vulcan Elements was a two-year-old rare-earth magnet startup with fewer than 50 employees when this happened. In August 2025, the company took $65 million in investments, including from 1789 Capital, the venture firm Trump Jr. joined as a partner after his father’s reelection. Neither 1789 Capital nor Vulcan has disclosed how large that stake is.
Three months later, the Pentagon announced it would lend Vulcan $620 million, plus another $80 million to a partner company, and $50 million in incentives from the Commerce Department. In exchange, the government took a $50 million equity stake in Vulcan with the right to buy more later.
The effect on Vulcan’s valuation was immediate. Estimates went from around $200 million near the time 1789 Capital first invested to around $2 billion after the deal was announced. That is a tenfold increase, driven by a federal loan that a White House aide personally pushed through.
The Friendship Behind the Deal
Navarro and Trump Jr. are not casual acquaintances. They have a documented, personal bond.
Trump Jr. visited Navarro in prison while Navarro served time for defying a congressional subpoena related to the January 6th investigation. Navarro dedicated his most recent book to a small group of people, including Trump Jr., for having “my back when it was against the wall.”
A week before the Vulcan deal was announced, Trump Jr. hosted Navarro on his streaming show, urging his nearly 2 million subscribers to buy Navarro’s book. That interview came shortly after Navarro had already told Pentagon staff to push the loan through, according to a defense official involved in the deal.
On the show, Trump Jr. called Navarro “my boy.” Navarro called him “brother” and thanked him for his support “in my hardest of times.” Vulcan was never mentioned by name. Rare earths were.
More Might Be Coming
Vulcan is not the only Trump Jr.-connected company in the pipeline.
A Pentagon official told ProPublica that a drone parts manufacturer, Unusual Machines, is also under review for a Pentagon loan. Trump Jr. sits on that company’s advisory board and holds millions of dollars in shares. The Pentagon already awarded Unusual Machines a contract last year to build drone engines for the Army, a decision that drew its own cronyism accusations at the time.
Everyone Involved Denies It
The denials are uniform and specific.
Navarro did not respond to ProPublica’s questions. Neither did Vulcan. A White House spokesperson said the administration is working “in the best interest of the American people” and that Navarro and Defense Department officials are working with private industry to secure the country’s critical mineral supply chain “at Trump Speed.”
Trump Jr.’s spokesperson said he does not discuss companies he has invested in with federal officials, did not speak to Navarro about Vulcan, and has “no knowledge about how this deal came together.” A spokesperson for 1789 Capital said the firm played no role in Vulcan getting the loan and did not learn about it before it became public. A Pentagon spokesperson said, “No company receives preferential treatment. Outside affiliations, investors, or political connections play absolutely no role in the Department’s funding decisions.”
Every single person with a financial or professional stake in this deal says the loan process was untouched by politics. ProPublica’s reporting says a White House aide personally ordered Pentagon staff to get it done in weeks instead of the usual months of vetting.
What Ethics Experts Say
Richard Painter, the chief White House ethics lawyer under George W. Bush, did not mince words about what this represents.
“Aides to the president should not be intervening in contracting and lending decisions by agencies, particularly in matters that financially benefit the president’s family,” Painter said. “This is our money they’re spending. This is corruption we pay for.”
Congress Tried to Get Answers. Republicans Blocked It.
Democratic senators demanded a full accounting from the Pentagon of how Vulcan was selected, warning that the Trump family’s conflicts of interest could result in “a waste of taxpayer dollars and a threat to national security.” The Pentagon’s response did not explain how Vulcan was chosen. It only described how the department handles conflicts of interest involving its own employees, not the president’s family.
House Democrats tried to subpoena Trump Jr. to testify about the deal. Republicans blocked it.
“Donald Trump Jr. must be made to answer whether the president’s son illegally profited from his father’s presidency,” said Oregon Rep. Maxine Dexter.
He has not had to answer that question. Because his own party made sure he wouldn’t be asked under oath.
The Bottom Line
Donald Trump Jr. took an undisclosed stake in a small company. His father’s senior White House adviser and close personal friend personally ordered the Pentagon to fast-track a $620 million loan to that company. The company’s valuation increased tenfold. Every person involved says none of this had anything to do with politics.
Congressional Republicans blocked Democrats from putting Trump Jr. under oath to ask him about it directly.
As one former White House ethics lawyer put it: this is corruption, and taxpayers are the ones paying for it.