Trump-friendly CNBC host Joe Kernen has cornered Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick about an eyebrow-raising deal being probed as a possible conflict of interest.
The deal is a $1.6 billion federal investment in USA Rare Earth. Lutnick’s former financial firm, Cantor Fitzgerald, now run by his sons, was selected to help raise the private capital needed to close the deal—and now it is drawing criticism from conservatives like Kernen.
Kernen said the deal appeared to be a conflict of interest. He asked Lutnick to address accusations that he influenced a transaction that benefited his sons, Brandon and Kyle Lutnick, who were named chairman and executive vice chairman of Cantor Fitzgerald in May 2025.
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