"The Pentagon used a little-known legal provision to shield a multibillion-dollar rare earths deal from procurement and contracting laws."
"The Trump administration is quietly taking steps to circumvent federal laws in its quest to bolster U.S. mineral production.
When Trump officials forged a multibillion dollar deal to become the biggest stakeholder in a Las Vegas-based company operating the nation’s only rare earths mine in California, the Department of Defense never held a press conference or doled out the details about its megadeal with MP Materials.
The deal, aimed at boosting the nation’s output of rare earth magnets used in EVs, electronics and weapons, could act as a model for other projects in the pipeline.
But tucked into the mining company’s financial filings is language showing how the DOD relied on a rarely used part of the Cold War-era Defense Production Act to sidestep standard and routine procurement and contracting laws. That move troubles public-interest watchdogs, former agency officials and legal experts."
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