U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick arranged for the Trump Administration to take a U.S. $1.6BB equity stake in USA Rare Earth to help move the United States away from dependence on China and others for rare earth mineral (REM) mining and production. ¹

The Times‘ reporting includes mention of support from private investors through Cantor Fitzgerald, a NY firm previously captained by Lutnick and currently run by Lutnick’s sons. This is not the first time Secretary Lutnick has used his influence for personal benefit. The Times has also reported that Lutnick has coerced foreign governments into making investments in U.S. companies — companies his sons were working with to raise capital for projects like AI data centers. ²

USA Rare Earth has two projects in the works — one in Texas and one in Oklahoma. The U.S. government has purchased stakes in other domestic REM concerns. This is just another example of aggressive U.S. interest in REM acquisitions (although not as big as the recent fervor over Greenland). ³

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1. Swanson, A. (2026, January 26). Trump Administration Takes Another Stake in Rare Earth Sector. The New York Times. Retrieved January 28, 2026, from https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/26/us/politics/trump-rare-earth-howard-lutnick.html ↩︎
2. Lipton, E., Rothfeld, M., Yaffe-Bellany, D., & Swanson, A. (2025, November 20). Family Affair: Commerce Secretary’s Sons Cash In on A.I. Frenzy. The New York Times. Retrieved January 28, 2026, from https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/20/us/politics/howard-lutnick-family-ai.html ↩︎
3. Farrell, T. (2025, December 30). Another Thought on U.S. Aggression: Bigger than Drugs, Bigger than Oil. On Current Events. Retrieved January 28, 2026, from https://currentevents.blog/2025/12/14/another-thought-on-u-s-aggression/ ↩︎