President Donald Trump’s “America First” agenda also good for family business? A major US-backed mining agreement in Kazakhstan has come under scrutiny after The New York Times reported that businesses
linked to the families of President Donald Trump and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick could benefit from the project while the Trump administration considers potential federal financing.
According to the report, the agreement gives an American company, Kaz Resources, access to one of the world’s largest untapped tungsten deposits in Kazakhstan. Tungsten is considered a strategic mineral used in missile warheads, fighter aircraft, semiconductors and other defence-related technologies.
Ahead of the agreement, the Trump administration approved preliminary applications for up to $1.6 billion in federal financing for the project. The report said the deal was finalised after discussions involving President Trump, Commerce Secretary Lutnick and Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
Investment links with Trump’s family
The New York Times reported that within weeks of negotiations in New York, investors associated with Dominari Securities, a financial firm operating from Trump Tower and partly owned by Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, acquired a 20 per cent stake in a corporate entity linked to the Kazakhstan mining venture.
Around the same period, Cantor Fitzgerald, the investment firm controlled by the Lutnick family and overseen by Commerce Secretary Lutnick’s sons Brandon and Kyle Lutnick, helped another investor involved in the project raise $210 million in fresh capital.
The newspaper said the Kazakhstan agreement was signed on November 6, six days after the investment involving the Trump sons and their business partners.
According to the report, businesses connected to either the Trump family or the Lutnick family have financial ties with at least 14 companies working on critical minerals projects that have received or are seeking support from the federal government. The total value of funding approved or under consideration for these companies exceeds $8.9 billion, the newspaper said.
Trump administration rejects allegations
However, the White House and the Commerce Department rejected suggestions that government decisions had been influenced by family business interests.
White House spokesperson Kush Desai told The New York Times that the administration’s decisions were guided solely by America’s national interest. “The only special interest guiding the Trump administration’s decision-making is the best interest of the American people,” Desai said, adding that securing America’s critical supply chains remained a top priority.
The Commerce Department also said Howard Lutnick had sold his ownership stake in Cantor Fitzgerald and that neither he nor department officials had discussed rare-earth mining business with the investment firm.
Cantor Fitzgerald separately said its executives were not involved in government funding discussions relating to its mining clients.
Companies defend project
At the centre of the Kazakhstan project is businessman Pini Althaus, executive chairman of Kaz Resources.
Althaus told The New York Times that discussions with the US government had begun during the Biden administration and denied receiving political favours. He said he was unaware that Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump had financial interests connected to the project until later.
“I can see how the optics might be disturbing to some people,” Althaus told the newspaper, adding that the project extended far beyond “any one president, let alone any family.”
Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. also said they were not involved in the specifics of the Kazakhstan transaction. Eric Trump described himself as a passive investor without any management role.
British investor Paul Mann, whose company is involved in the transaction, confirmed the Trump sons had financial interests in the broader deal but maintained there was “no conflict of interest” and said the project served US strategic interests.
Democrats seek scrutiny
The report has prompted criticism from Democrats, who argued that Congress should examine whether taxpayer-backed funding could indirectly benefit people closely connected to senior administration officials.
Representative Maxine Dexter said Congress must ensure public funds are used in the national interest rather than benefiting family members or those closely associated with the administration.
According to The New York Times, none of the proposed $1.6 billion in government support for the Kazakhstan mining project has yet been disbursed, as the financing remains subject to additional approvals.
