Subject classification: Organization. Anchors met: Anchor C (financial enablement) and Anchor D (financial transactions creating conflicts of interest). USA Rare Earth received up to $1.6 billion in Commerce Department support — the department headed by Howard Lutnick — while Cantor Fitzgerald (now run by Lutnick’s sons) earned millions in fees from USA Rare Earth’s capital raises. The Commerce Department also received 16 million shares of company stock. Congressional investigation underway.

Overview

USA Rare Earth (Nasdaq: USAR) is a critical minerals company focused on neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) magnet production and rare earth mining. The company was founded by Pini Althaus, who also serves as executive chairman of Kaz Resources (see Kaz Resources — Accountability Profile).

USA Rare Earth has received one of the largest single federal support packages in the critical minerals sector — up to $1.6 billion in combined Commerce Department loans and direct funding.

The company’s significance to this knowledge base is the structural conflict created by the intersection of three facts: Commerce Department financing directed to USA Rare Earth; Cantor Fitzgerald earning fees from USA Rare Earth capital raises; and Howard Lutnick’s simultaneous relationship to both entities (Commerce Secretary; former head of Cantor, whose sons now run it).

Federal Support

[CREDIBLY REPORTED] The Commerce Department committed up to $1.6 billion in financial support to USA Rare Earth, comprising:

• Up to $1.3 billion in Commerce Department loans
• $277 million in direct federal funding for magnet production
• An additional $565 million potentially for a rare earths mine in Brazil

[CREDIBLY REPORTED] In exchange for this support, the Commerce Department received 16 million shares of USA Rare Earth stock — an arrangement that prompted congressional scrutiny because it gives the federal department a direct equity stake in a company whose capital was raised by the secretary’s family firm.

The equity stake is unusual. Federal financing agencies (EXIM, DFC) do not typically take equity positions in the companies they support. When they do — as with some DFC investments — the equity is structured through arm’s-length processes with formal conflict-of-interest documentation (see How International Mining Deals Normally Work — A Baseline for Comparison, Phase 3).

Cantor Fitzgerald Connection

[CREDIBLY REPORTED] Cantor Fitzgerald “earned millions of dollars in fees” helping USA Rare Earth raise $1.5 billion in a series of deals since 2025, according to The New York Times.

Howard Lutnick previously ran Cantor Fitzgerald. His sons now run it. Lutnick’s Commerce Department directed up to $1.6 billion to USA Rare Earth while the firm his sons run earned fees from the same company.

The same individual — Pini Althaus — serves as the executive chairman of both USA Rare Earth and Kaz Resources. Lutnick’s Commerce Department has provided support to entities led by Althaus in both capacities. (For the Kaz Resources relationship, see Kaz Resources — Accountability Profile.)

Congressional Investigation

[DOCUMENTED] In December 2025, Democratic lawmakers including Senator Elizabeth Warren wrote to the Commerce Inspector General, calling this arrangement “the latest example of how official Commerce Department business has intersected with Cantor Fitzgerald’s financial interests during your tenure.”

[DOCUMENTED] In February 2026, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Martin Heinrich, along with House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Jared Huffman and House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Robert Garcia, demanded documents from the Commerce Department about federal equity stakes in mining companies, specifically citing the 16 million shares in USA Rare Earth.

The congressional inquiries focus on:

• Whether Lutnick formally recused from decisions affecting USA Rare Earth
• The basis for the Commerce Department taking an equity position
• Whether competitive processes were used to select USA Rare Earth for this level of support
• The relationship between Cantor Fitzgerald’s fee income and Commerce Department financing decisions

Deviation Analysis

Applying the framework from How International Mining Deals Normally Work — A Baseline for Comparison:

Government equity stake in a company whose capital was raised by the secretary’s family firm. This is unprecedented in modern Commerce Department history. The combination — government official’s department takes equity in a company; official’s family firm earns fees from the same company’s capital raises — constitutes a structural conflict without documented historical parallel.

No documented competitive process. Public reporting has not identified a competitive tender, open solicitation, or structured selection process through which USA Rare Earth was chosen to receive up to $1.6 billion in support over other potential rare earth producers.

Same executive receives support from same department for two companies. Pini Althaus leads both USA Rare Earth and Kaz Resources. Both have received financial support or facilitation from Lutnick’s Commerce Department. This concentration of support in one individual’s portfolio of companies warrants scrutiny under the deviation framework’s “origination channel” indicator.

Deviation count: 4+ (systemic pattern warranting formal investigation) under the baseline framework.

Commerce Department and Cantor Fitzgerald Responses

[CREDIBLY REPORTED] The Commerce Department has stated that Lutnick has not interacted with Cantor Fitzgerald on minerals matters and that appropriate ethics protocols are followed.

[CREDIBLY REPORTED] Cantor Fitzgerald has described itself as “a natural partner for companies raising capital” in the critical minerals sector, framing its role as standard capital-markets activity unrelated to any government relationship.

Neither entity has publicly released formal recusal documentation, ethics waivers, or conflict-of-interest screenings related to USA Rare Earth transactions.

For Trump Supporters: Questions Worth Considering

These are not accusations. They are questions that any taxpayer — regardless of party — should want answered when $1.6 billion in public funds is directed to a single company.

1. Should the government own equity in a private company whose capital was raised by the Commerce Secretary’s family firm? If the roles were reversed — if a Democratic Commerce Secretary’s family firm earned fees from a company receiving $1.6B in that secretary’s department’s support — would you consider that acceptable?

1. Was there a competitive process? Were other rare earth companies given the opportunity to compete for this level of support? If not, why was USA Rare Earth selected?

1. What are the 16 million shares worth, and who benefits? If USA Rare Earth’s stock price rises as a result of the government financing, the Commerce Department’s equity position gains value. What happens to that gain? Who decides when to sell?

1. Why does one executive (Pini Althaus) receive Commerce Department support for two separate companies? Is this the most efficient allocation of limited federal critical minerals funding, or does it reflect a relationship-based rather than merit-based process?

Investigative Trails

For researchers and journalists pursuing this story, priority records include:

• SEC filings (USAR): 10-K, 8-K, and S-1 filings disclosing Cantor Fitzgerald as placement agent, fee structures, and related-party transactions
• Commerce Inspector General response: Any investigation opened in response to the December 2025 congressional letter
• FOIA — Commerce Department: Internal communications regarding USA Rare Earth financing decisions, Lutnick recusal documentation (if any), and the terms of the 16 million share equity stake
• Congressional oversight developments: Senate Energy Committee and House Natural Resources Committee hearing schedules, document production compliance
• 16 million shares valuation: Current and historical share price of USAR; total value of government equity position; any lock-up or disposition restrictions