CFIUS Is Broken: Biden’s Politicization of US Steel Puts America at Risk

The Biden administration’s handling of the proposed sale of United States Steel Corp. is yet another example of how the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) has been hijacked for political gain by creating a secretive, unaccountable process that has been weaponized to serve Biden’s political interests instead of America’s national security.

The proposed $14.9 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel by Japan’s Nippon Steel is currently in limbo, with the Biden administration facing a January 7 deadline to make a final decision. In an effort to win over a weaponized CIFIUS, Nippon Steel has made significant concessions, including a 10-year guarantee to maintain U.S. Steel’s production capacity and a $2.7 billion commitment to modernizing unionized facilities, as well as offering the U.S. government veto power over any reductions in production capacity and pledging to appoint U.S. citizens to key management positions. Despite these good faith gestures, the Biden Administration has decided to put corporate cronyism and special interests over what’s best for the American people.

CFIUS was designed to protect critical industries from foreign threats. However, under the Biden administration, it’s become a black box of backroom deals and political favoritism. Republicans, led by Representatives Bill Huizenga (MI), Andy Barr (KY), Dan Meuser (PA), and John Rose (TN), are right to demand transparency and accountability. The American people deserve to know if the review process is being used as a political tool to placate unions, curry favor with corporate insiders, and secure future votes in swing states like Pennsylvania.

The controversy surrounding CFIUS’s approval of Nippon Steel’s proposed acquisition of U.S. Steel cannot be separated from the Biden family’s long history of exploiting the committee for political and financial gain, including a 2015 military aviation industry deal that, despite involving Chinese-backed firms which had been flagged multiple times by U.S. intelligence for technology theft and involving companies that had been sanctioned on five occasions, was approved by CFIUS under the Obama-Biden administration. This pattern of behavior—weakening CFIUS oversight to benefit politically connected entities—underscores a broader trend of selling out American interests.

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President Biden has publicly opposed the U.S. Steel sale, but his actions behind closed doors suggest this opposition is for reasons other than national security. By deferring his decision to CFIUS, Biden is hiding behind a panel that operates with little transparency. Meanwhile, he’s quietly coordinating with unions like the United Steelworkers and domestic competitors like Cleveland-Cliffs Inc., both of which stand to benefit from blocking this deal. It’s clear that Biden is playing politics with foreign direct investment, and CFIUS is his weapon of choice.

What’s most alarming is how CFIUS operates outside of public scrutiny. This secretive process is being manipulated to serve political narratives rather than uphold its mission to prioritize national security. Republicans are rightly calling for the preservation of all records related to the U.S. Steel review. If the Biden administration is colluding with unions and corporate interests to influence CFIUS decisions, it’s not just an abuse of power—it’s a betrayal of the American people.

CFIUS’s lack of transparency creates a dangerous precedent. If this process can be corrupted for political gain, how can we trust it to make objective decisions on critical issues? It’s one thing to scrutinize foreign investments for genuine national security risks, but it’s another to politicize those reviews to serve partisan interests. Biden’s actions undermine the credibility of CFIUS and put the integrity of our national security at risk, not to mention show other nations that political gain comes before relationships with our allies.

Republicans must take a stand to demand accountability, transparency, and an end to the politicization of CFIUS. If the Biden administration continues to weaponize this vital committee, it won’t just compromise one deal—it will jeopardize America’s ability to safeguard its critical industries in the future.

The American people deserve a government that puts political gain aside to do what’s in the best interest of the American people. It’s time to fix CFIUS, root out corruption, and ensure that decisions are made with transparency and integrity.

Mitchell Brown is an Army veteran and Defense Language Institute graduate with extensive experience as a linguist, intelligence collector, and reconnaissance asset. He served as deputy White House Liaison for the Department of Labor for the first Trump administration.

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