OPINION:
President Biden demonstrated little regard for the rule of law during his four years in office. From his selective enforcement of immigration laws to unconstitutional COVID-19 vaccine mandates, it should come as little surprise that as he left office, the president made one last push to illegally impose his will on the American public for the benefit of his political allies.
Specifically, Mr. Biden’s decision to block the deal reached between U.S. Steel and Japanese-owned Nippon Steel to revitalize America’s struggling steel industry is a clear illustration of how Mr. Biden put politics over principle to fulfill a campaign promise made to the leadership of the United Steelworkers Union who would like to see the deal stopped.
To accomplish this goal, Mr. Biden corrupted what should have been an impartial review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), an interagency panel tasked with evaluating transactions between American firms and foreign investors for national security concerns. Before the committee could begin its assessment, Mr. Biden publicly declared his opposition. This unprecedented interference, which happened on several occasions throughout 2024, violated the Defense Production Act and his statutory obligations to maintain the integrity of the CFIUS process. What it did, though, was gain him the endorsement of the USW just a few short days after he initially stated his opposition to the deal.
The procedural aspects of the process itself also raise questions. Rather than being subjected to a good-faith, politically neutral review and investigation of the transaction for national security concerns, U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel were repeatedly given unreasonable response deadlines — including a one-day turnaround over Labor Day weekend — and prevented from presenting their case during crucial meetings. These actions were manifestations of an unfair process designed by bureaucrats to reach a predetermined result: support Mr. Biden’s political decision.
Despite this pressure from the White House and administrative chicanery, CFIUS ultimately could not reasonably reach a consensus on any national security justifications to block the deal. On the contrary, multiple security-focused agencies who sit on CFIUS, including the departments of Treasury, State and Justice, argued against or expressed reservations about Mr. Biden stopping the transaction. Even members of the Biden national security team, including National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and his deputy Jonathan Finer, cautioned against the commander in chief’s ultimate actions. Their expert assessment was clear: Far from threatening national security, they believed the deal would have strengthened America’s alliance with Japan and bolstered our position against China.
Considering all this, it is clear that this legally flawed decision must not be allowed to stand. It could weaken the American economy by chilling foreign investment and harm national security by undermining our relationship with a key ally. A dangerous legal precedent that extends far beyond this case would also be set.
Future presidents would effectively be granted unlimited authority to interfere in private market decisions under the guise of national security, even when no credible security threat exists. This would represent a dramatic and unconstitutional expansion of executive power that our founders never intended.
Fortunately, and rightfully so, U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel have filed lawsuits challenging this decision. These legal challenges must move forward, and the courts must vacate the decision, not just based on the preponderance of the evidence supporting the plaintiff’s case but because so much more is at stake than the fate of a single corporate transaction.
Such a ruling would restore the rule of law and create an opportunity for a fresh review under President Trump’s administration that would be unburdened by the political interference and procedural irregularities that marred the previous process. Mr. Trump’s proven negotiating experience could be leveraged to craft better terms that allay his own concerns about serving American interests while preserving a deal that enjoys north of 90% support from the rank-and-file steelworkers who work day in and day out at the mills that will be impacted.
The time has come for our judicial system to fulfill its constitutional role as a check on executive overreach. By striking down the Biden administration’s politically motivated and legally flawed decision to block the U.S. Steel-Nippon Steel deal, the courts would preserve the integrity of the CFIUS process and protect the broader principles that underpin our constitutional republic and market economy. The precedent set by this case will resonate far beyond the steel industry, establishing whether future presidents can arbitrarily invoke national security to advance political interests or whether the rule of law will continue to govern our nation’s economic affairs.
• Curtis Hill is a former attorney general for the state of Indiana.
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