President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he will gain control of U.S. Steel as part of a merger deal with Japan's largest steelmaker, according to The Associated Press.
“We have a golden share, which I control,” Trump said Thursday about the deal with Nippon Steel to invest billions in Pennsylvania-based U.S. Steel, which was founded in 1901 by American financier J.P. Morgan.
Trump added that he was "'a little concerned' about what future presidents would do with their golden share, 'but that gives you total control.'”
According to The New York Times, a golden share “would effectively allow Washington to inject itself into the fabric of a foreign-owned, yet strategically critical, American enterprise."
Nippon Steel "had been offering nearly $15 billion to purchase U.S. Steel in a merger" that the AP said was delayed over "national security concerns since Joe Biden’s presidency."
Although the terms of the deal remain unclear, Trump claimed that the "White House would control U.S. Steel based on his terms, and the company would have '51% ownership by Americans,'" wrote reporter Josh Boak.
Boak added that "it was unclear what [Trump] meant by suggesting that the federal government would determine what U.S. Steel does as a company."