ProPublica reports that Peter Navarro, a White House adviser and friend of Donald Trump Jr., initiated the Pentagon's record $620 million loan to Vulcan Elements, a North Carolina rare-earth magnet startup in which Trump Jr.'s venture firm, 1789 Capital, had taken an undisclosed stake three months earlier, and that the deal was rushed through in weeks rather than the usual months of vetting. Donald Trump Jr., Vulcan Elements, 1789 Capital, and the Pentagon all denied any favoritism, while Democratic lawmakers and ethics experts allege self-dealing.