White House directs Pentagon to approve $620 million loan

A senior White House adviser personally directed the Pentagon to expedite a record $620 million loan to a startup company in which Donald Trump Jr. held a financial stake, according to Defense Department records and officials involved in the process. The loan to Vulcan Elements, a North Carolina-based rare-earth magnet manufacturer, was initiated by Peter Navarro, President Donald Trump's senior counselor for trade and manufacturing, and was processed in a matter of weeks after the White House request.

The deal, announced in November 2025, was the largest ever issued by the Pentagon's Office of Strategic Capital. Officials said the standard vetting process for such loans typically takes many months, but staff worked under a compressed timeline to complete the Vulcan transaction. One official involved said the directive was clear: "The call came from the White House: 'We have to get this done.'" Of the dozens of companies the Pentagon was considering for funding at the time, Vulcan's was the only deal initiated by a top aide to the president, according to a defense official.

Navarro and Donald Trump Jr. share a close personal relationship. The president's son visited Navarro in...