“… Navarro, who served as trade adviser in Trump’s first term, and Trump Jr. have formed a close bond in recent years. The president’s son visited Navarro in prison while he served time for defying a subpoena from lawmakers investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Trump Jr. was one of the small group of people Navarro dedicated his latest book to for having “my back when it was against the wall.”
And a week before the Vulcan deal was announced, Trump Jr. hosted Navarro — now the president’s senior counselor for trade and manufacturing — on
his streaming show, encouraging his nearly 2 million subscribers to buy Navarro’s book. That interview was not long after word came down from Navarro to Pentagon staff to make the massive loan to Vulcan, one of the defense officials involved in the deal said.
… The Trump Pentagon handed the reins to hard-charging former Wall Street executives, who have been recruiting others to make the leap from finance to government. A
leaked presentation from a headhunter seemed to suggest they could parlay their tour in government into future riches: “If you ever want to raise your own fund, you will gain access to fundraising channels that include royal families and foreign sovereign contacts.” (It’s unclear whether the Pentagon approved the presentation.)
The office’s new leaders aim to make as many deals as possible, including loans and investments in exchange for ownership stakes, people who have worked with the office say. They said the new officials are relying more on their own personal networks, not applications, to choose companies to fund. So far, outside of Vulcan, a small number of other companies have been selected…
… Companies considered for funding are generally vetted for many months, the person said, but this deal was completed in a matter of weeks because they were told it was a White House priority.
… The deal was good news for Vulcan’s investors, including Trump Jr.’s firm. Estimates of Vulcan’s valuation went from around $200 million near the time 1789 Capital first invested, according to Bloomberg, to around $2 billion.
… The Office of Strategic Capital is expected to deploy billions more in loans in the coming months to critical mineral and military technology companies.
Among the companies under review was Unusual Machines, a Florida drone parts maker, a Defense official said. Trump Jr.
sits on the company’s advisory board and holds
millions of dollars worth of shares. The Pentagon was accused of cronyism last year when
it awarded the company a contract to make drone engines for the Army. …”
