TRUMP SONS' FIRMS TIED TO $6B CONTRACTS

PHOTO CAPTION: President Donald Trump takes the oath of office during the 58th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., Jan. 20, 2017. A new ABC News analysis says companies backed by investment firms connected to Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump are tied to more than $6 billion in government contracts. DoD photo by U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Cristian L. Ricardo.

Defense and technology companies backed by investment firms connected to President Donald Trump’s sons have received or been promised more than $6 billion in government contracts since those investments were made, according to a new ABC News analysis.
The updated accounting comes one day after Trump traveled to Sparrows Point, Maryland, to announce a massive new shipbuilding project involving defense technology company Anduril Industries and the U.S. Navy.
The project, called Arsenal-2, carries a total planned investment of $6.6 billion.
Anduril says it will invest $3.7 billion of its own money into the new shipyard, while the Navy is providing support worth up to $2.9 billion.
The facility is expected to manufacture submarine components, autonomous underwater vessels and other equipment for the Navy.
The connection drawing new scrutiny involves 1789 Capital.
Donald Trump Jr. is one of six partners at the venture capital firm, which participated in a $2.5 billion investment round in Anduril in June 2025 and acquired a significant stake in the company.
According to ABC’s review of federal contracting records, Anduril has received approximately $1.8 billion through 135 other U.S. government contracts since that investment.
Anduril was already an established government contractor before 1789 Capital invested in it.
Federal contracting records cited by ABC show the company had been receiving government business since at least 2019.
And Anduril is only one company in the broader investment portfolio.
ABC found that defense, technology and manufacturing companies backed by investment firms connected to Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump have collectively received or been promised more than $6 billion in government contracts since the brothers’ investments were made.
Those companies work in areas including drones, rocket propulsion, rare-earth materials, automated manufacturing, quantum computing and military technology.
One is Vulcan Elements, a rare-earth magnet manufacturer backed by 1789 Capital.
The company received a $620 million loan from the Pentagon’s Office of Strategic Capital after the firm invested in it.
Another, Firehawk Aerospace, received investments from 1789 Capital and has since received several military awards involving rocket-engine and munitions development.
Hadrian, an automated manufacturing company backed by 1789 Capital, received a $39.2 million Army agreement and a Navy deal valued at up to $900 million for submarine manufacturing.
Companies connected to investment vehicles associated with Eric Trump have also received government business.
ABC reported that drone manufacturer Powerus, which lists the Trump brothers as notable investors through American Ventures, received its first Air Force purchase order in 2026 and was later awarded an agreement worth up to $90 million.
The overlap between the Trump family’s private investments and federal defense spending has prompted calls for additional oversight.
Congressional Democrats have asked the Pentagon’s inspector general to examine whether the relationships create conflicts involving the Defense Department’s contracting process.
No finding has established that Donald Trump Jr. or Eric Trump improperly influenced any of the awards.
A spokesperson for the brothers denied wrongdoing and said their investment decisions are based on independent business judgment.
The spokesperson said neither brother seeks to influence, direct or participate in government procurement, awards, regulatory decisions or other federal processes.
Companies involved have also defended the contracting process.
Representatives for several firms have said their government work was awarded based on their technology, engineering capabilities and military requirements rather than their investors.
The Pentagon has previously said political connections and outside investors do not play a role in its funding decisions and that contractors do not receive preferential treatment.
There is another important distinction in the new $6 billion figure.
It does not represent money paid directly to Donald Trump Jr. or Eric Trump.
It represents active or promised government contract value involving companies in which investment firms connected to the brothers hold interests.
Some of those companies were already federal contractors before the investments occurred.
The issue returned to the spotlight Tuesday because of the scale of the new Anduril project.
Trump announced the Arsenal-2 shipyard at its future home in Sparrows Point, saying it would become the largest new U.S. shipyard in generations.
The Navy’s portion of the project is worth up to $2.9 billion.
Anduril plans to contribute another $3.7 billion.
One day later, ABC published its updated review placing the government business involving companies backed by the president’s sons at more than $6 billion.