Overview
- Rep. Jamie Raskin requested by March 9 all communications between Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Cantor Fitzgerald, plus internal analyses on the administration’s tariff policy.
- Raskin’s letter cites Wired reporting that Cantor offered to buy importers’ tariff refund claims at a discount tied to court outcomes, a claim the firm denies.
- A separate Senate letter from Elizabeth Warren, Ron Wyden, and Chris Van Hollen seeks answers by March 11 on the Commerce Department’s plan to invest up to $1.6 billion in USA Rare Earth.
- Senators highlight that Commerce plans to take roughly a 10% stake as USA Rare Earth raised about $1.5 billion in a PIPE where Cantor served as lead placement agent.
- Lutnick left Cantor to lead Commerce and transferred his stake to trusts for his adult children, as his sons Brandon and Kyle assumed top roles at the firm, drawing conflict‑of‑interest scrutiny.