Democrats to investigate ‘miraculous’ rise of Trump Jr’s investment firm

Democrats on a powerful US congressional committee have launched an investigation into a venture capital firm which has thrived since recruiting Donald Trump’s son.Donald Trump Jr joined 1789 Capital as a partner just days after his father won a second term in office in November 2024. Congressman Jamie Raskin, ranking member of the US House of Representatives judiciary committee, has asked the president’s son to detail the firm’s recent success.The Guardian previously reported that after Trump Jr joined 1789 Capital, its assets under management ballooned: going from a reported $150m in 2024, to $1bn last August, to $2.7bn at year’s end, to a reported $3.5bn by May, according to SEC filings.A significant proportion of that capital came from foreign investors, according to CNN reporting and the Guardian’s review of SEC filings. Forty per cent of assets under management were from overseas investors.In a letter to the US president’s son, and the founders of the firm – Omeed Malik and Christopher Buskirk – judiciary committee Democrats have asked for records that include companies that have received investments from the firm and any communications with any US elected official or federal government officials by 9 September. However, in the minority, Democrats have little subpoena power without Republican support for their cause.“Two years ago,” Raskin wrote, 1789 Capital was “a struggling venture capital firm that earned consistently disappointing results by serially investing in total market flops” but has since undergone a “miraculous transformation”.“With Don Jr’s new leadership role, 1789 Capital has developed an uncanny ability to identify companies that are about to receive massive influxes of cash from the Trump administration or to benefit from significant changes in federal policies and regulations,” the top Democrat wrote. “They say there is no such thing as a sure thing in investing, but this is about as close as you can get.”In a statement to the Guardian, AJ Merton, counsel to 1789 Capital, called the allegations leveled by Democrats “unsubstantiated talking points”.“Repackaging press clippings on congressional letterhead does not turn news headlines into evidence,” he added. “And that practice is a hallmark of partisan stunts and politically motivated harassment, not oversight.”Raskin also argued “it is now impossible to believe” that the firm’s “astonishing growth and success are due to anything other than insider political influence and thoroughgoing corruption”.The ranking member outlined a series of reports of recent investments by 1789 Capital that include millions of dollars in Vulcan Elements, a rare earth company, in August 2025. Before this, the manufacturer had reportedly touted several government contracts they had secured months prior. Raskin then notes that the Pentagon announced a $620m direct loan to Vulcan Elements in November last year. At the same time, the Department of Commerce (DoC) provided the company with a $50m grant under the Chips and Science Act – legislation signed by former president Joe Biden.“This was an amazing turn of events when the Trump administration decided to pump over half a billion dollars into an unproven startup company,” Raskin wrote.He also pointed to a recent July interview with CNBC in which the US president said that his children have “inside information” due to the fact his policies touch nearly every part of the economy.“I tell my kids, ‘stay away,’” Trump said at the time. “But they also have a life. You know, they were doing business long before I ever thought of running for president.”In an interview with the New York Times last month, Trump Jr said he only talks to his father, the president, “every few weeks”, and never discusses business with him and – as a private citizen – holds “no policy position and no role within the administration whatsoever”.Raskin’s letter also cites reporting from the Guardian that Anduril Inudstries, a major military contractor founded by Trump ally and donor Palmer Luckey, has received billions in government contracts over the last year. 1789 Capital, the judiciary Democrats note, has acquired a stake in the company. Anduril says in Trump’s first year in office it doubled its revenue – a growth rate of 100%.Earlier this month, the Guardian also reported that two appointments to the Defense Policy Board, a key Pentagon advisory body, include two men with ties to 1789 Capital.Andreessen Horowitz, one of Silicon Valley’s largest venture capital firms, co-invests in three defense contractors alongside Trump Jr’s firm. The other appointee, Blake Masters, also sits on the boards of three ventures tied to 1789 Capital.Both men now advise the Pentagon on the defense-technology sector those companies operate in.