For the second time this year, a little-known company backed by Donald Trump Jr. has scored a major contract with the US Department of Defense.
The Financial Times reported that Vulcan Elements—a tiny startup of 30 employees that specializes in producing rare-earth magnets used in drones, radars and other pieces of military equipment – scored a $620 million loan from the Pentagon as part of “a $1.4 billion deal to increase the supply of magnets for industries alongside partner ReElement Technologies.”
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Vulcan has received funding from 1789 Capital, a venture capital firm founded by pro-Trump donors in 2023 that brought Trump Jr. in as a partner last year. According to the FT’s analysis, “at least four of 1789’s portfolio companies have won contracts from the Trump administration this year, amounting to more than $735 million.”
Revelations about the Vulcan Elements contract come just weeks after the Florida-based drone startup Unusual Machines, in which Trump Jr. has held a $4 million stake, received a contract from the US Army to manufacture 3,500 drone motors. Additionally, reported the FT, the Army indicated that it planned “to order an additional 20,000 components” from the Trump Jr.-backed firm next year.
As Popular Information reported earlier this year, Unusual Machines first brought Trump Jr. on as an adviser just weeks after his father won the 2024 presidential election, even though he had “no notable experience with drones or military contracting.”
A Popular Information article published last week reported that “both Vulcan CEO John Maslin and Unusual Machines CEO Allan Evans said that Trump Jr. played no role in securing the government contracts.”
However, the Popular Information report flagged statements by Trump Jr. made earlier this year about helping to screen candidates for key positions in the Pentagon who would buy drones: “In September, Trump Jr. said on his podcast that he looked for candidates who wanted to spend more on drones, alleging that the military is ‘better served with a drone that costs … a tiny fraction of that of a plane.’”
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Kedric Payne, general counsel at the Campaign Legal Center, told the Financial Times that that the government deals scored by Trump Jr.-backed companies look ethically dubious even if the president’s son didn’t directly use his influence to procure them.
“Presidents are expected to avoid even the appearance that they are using their office to financially benefit themselves or their family,” he said. “While we do not know for certain if, or how, the president may have influenced this loan, it falls under the cloud of conflicts of interest we have seen throughout this administration.”
This article, originally published by Common Dreams, is republished under a Creative Commons license.
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