Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) took a swing at President Donald Trump on Thursday, accusing him of using taxpayer money to give his son a rather extravagant wedding gift. Schiff posted on X that Trump may have skipped his son's wedding last weekend, but he made up for it with a $600 million present—paid for by you and me.
"The Trump family grift knows no bounds, and neither should our resolve to stop it," Schiff wrote.
The senator's post linked to a ProPublica article that dug into a Pentagon deal for rare-earth magnets. Here's the gist: In late November, the Pentagon's Office of Strategic Capital approved a conditional $620 million loan for Vulcan Elements. Just three months earlier, Donald Trump Jr.'s firm, 1789 Capital, had taken an undisclosed stake in that same company. Coincidence? Schiff doesn't think so.
The loan to Vulcan Elements initially raised eyebrows over possible favoritism. While Trump Jr., the Pentagon, and the company all denied any political influence, ProPublica's investigation found that the loan request was reportedly initiated by Peter Navarro, a Trump adviser and associate of Trump Jr. The White House didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.
This isn't the first time the Trump family has been linked to government deals. Earlier this month, a report revealed that a company backed by Trump's sons invested in a mining group developing a $1.6 billion project in Kazakhstan, awarded by the Trump administration. And in April, Foundation Future Industries, backed by Eric Trump, secured a $24 million Pentagon contract. That deal drew criticism from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who called it "corruption in plain sight" after Eric Trump discussed the deal on Fox News.
To be fair, the Vulcan Elements loan isn't the only government partnership involving the company. In early November, American Resources Corp. (AREC), through its subsidiaries ReElement Technologies and Vulcan Elements, announced a $1.4 billion partnership with the U.S. government to expand the domestic rare earth magnet supply chain. That deal was hailed as a milestone aimed at reducing dependence on China for critical minerals. But the timing of Don Jr.'s stake—just before the loan—has critics questioning whether the fix was in.
Schiff's sarcastic "wedding present" comment taps into a broader narrative about the Trump family's business dealings intersecting with government contracts. Whether it's a $600 million loan or a $24 million contract, the pattern is drawing increasing scrutiny from Democrats and watchdog groups. As Schiff put it, the grift knows no bounds—and neither should the resolve to stop it.
