Congress has already conveyed to the Pentagon’s Office of Strategic Capital that it lacks the legal authority to seek equity stakes in private companies, a person familiar with the process told Semafor.
It did so by declining to pass legislative proposals that would have granted the office the legal authority to seek equity stakes that were submitted by the Pentagon in recent years, the person said.
The office, created in 2022 to issue and guarantee loans so private companies can develop critical technologies, came under scrutiny this week after the Trump administration used it to take an equity stake in Venezuela’s second-largest oil firm.
Lawmakers have asked the Trump administration to brief Congress on the deal, Semafor first reported, amid bipartisan skepticism.
The Pentagon and White House did not respond to requests for comment.