Donald Trump Jr.’s Drone Ventures Could Make a Killing — Thanks to Dad’s Big Beautiful Budget

Last November shortly after Donald Trump was reelected president his son Donald Trump Jr joined a venture capital firm with investments in several defense companies Later that month he was appointed the advisory board of Uncommon Machines a small Florida-based drone company incorporated in Nevada Securities filings established Trump Jr owned shares in the company with only two top executives holding more After he joined the board the stock doubled to about a share It was a boon for Trump Jr but not his last chance to make big money off drones and his efforts to do so may get a big helping hand from dad President Donald Trump s military procurement policies defense budget and lately passed ruling body budget the One Big Beautiful Bill Act includes billion dollars for small drone production where Strange Machines has been making big investments There is no modern or historical comparison for what Don Jr and the President are doing With his father s administration footing the bill for massive domestic drone expansion good establishment watchdogs fear Trump Jr could benefit financially creating a conflict of interest or at least the appearance of one without anyone even finding out The president s family is not subject to the same financial disclosures that federal bureaucrats must make about their financial and business interests Don Jr is not subject to any disclosures revealed Donald Sherman executive vice president and chief counsel at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington or CREW There s just innumerable options that this company with ties to Don Jr can lobby the administration through him without having to assessment that information Atypical Machines the Trump Organization and the White House did not respond to requests for comment Though several current and former elected agents have deep ties to the defense industry Sherman reported the Trumps positions were unique in their scale and brazenness I want to make clear that this is a matter and it s a challenge that impacts the whole of governing body Sherman revealed but there is no modern or historical comparison for what Don Jr and the President are doing U S Drone Manufacturing Extraordinary Machines has been positioning itself to benefit from legislative and regime protocol changes The company is made up of two parts Fat Shark which makes goggles controllers and other drone components and accessories and an e-commerce platform called Rotor Riot which sells drone parts According to a pitch deck for investors Atypical Machines also plans to acquire an Australian drone motor manufacturer Rotor Lab The acquisition of Rotor Lab according to the presentation is part of a wider plan to move the small-drone supply chain to American soil The company will produce its own drone motors at a planned square foot facility in Orlando Florida That facility is according to the pitch deck part of an effort to onshore more drone manufacturing and avoid heavy tariffs on Chinese drone machinery Moving more manufacturing to the U S will also help comply with new governing body national shield regulations and Pentagon procurement policies Related Cheap and Lethal The Pentagon s Plan for the Next Drone War Congress has just begun work on the defense budget or National Defense Authorization Act The NDAA is set to prioritize establishment funding for bringing production of small drone components to the U S including at private manufacturing facilities And a July memo from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth states the Pentagon s intention to invest significantly in American-made drones and drone components like those Rare Machines plans to manufacture starting in September according to the investor presentation The Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment Specific of Atypical Machines moves are already in line with military drone applications The company will make motors for first-person view drones or FPVs small drones of the kind already being trialed in military exercises at the new Orlando facility Because the company is focusing on making and selling FPV drone components that comply with the NDAA they d also stand to benefit from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act s billions in subsidies for military drone tool including billion for the expansion of the small unmanned aerial system industrial base Exceptional Machines has a promising position in the territory since small drones are traditionally made for commercial use larger defense contractors may have them in the catalog but haven t focused as much on emerging them Competitive Advantage Remarkable Machines says in its investor presentation that bringing manufacturing to the U S will give it a strong competitive advantage Experts worry that having Trump Jr on their side could do the same thing There s dependably these risks that he is going to have inside information or be able to access inside information from the U S cabinet for a whole range of things Colby Goodman an arms transaction expert at Transparency International U S mentioned Just from the procurement side he could know about upcoming bids and the content of what that is and help them win contracts with the U S cabinet When contractors don t get the U S establishment contracts they want they backfill with arm sales and deals with foreign entities Even if Atypical Machines doesn t win contracts with the authorities that doesn t mean it won t make money Julia Gledhill a research analyst for the National Precaution Improvement Activity at the Stimson Center commented What happens when contractors don t get the U S administration contracts they want is then they backfill with arm sales and deals with foreign entities Gledhill mentioned There s something to be revealed potentially about the idea that contractors are going to develop technologies or weapons with state advocacy and make money by selling them elsewhere Trump Jr s ties to the defense and drone industries go further than his role with Extraordinary Machines He s also a partner at Capital a venture capital firm led by Republican megadonor Omeed Malik Related Trump s Big Beautiful Gift to Anduril The company s investments include plenty of defense firms like Anduril AI-powered aerospace firm Hadrian and Firehawk Trump Jr s involvement in venture decisions isn t clear but he s been positioned as a face of the company alongside Malik at events including the Qatar Economic Forum Mr Malik and Donald Trump Jr have an established business relationship that dates back more than five years which is why the firm was thrilled to welcome Don s business expertise last year in the role of partner disclosed a spokesperson who touted the firm s compliance and transparency records Don as a private citizen who has never served in ruling body is permitted to continue to pursue his decades-long career in business Trump Jr s promising benefit from his investments through would shake out differently from Strange Machines Partners in venture capital firms typically take a fee to manage investments in startups Then if those companies make a big return when they go masses or are acquired by another firm the venture capitalists can make money after they repay institutional investors VCs also receive other benefits like a seat on the company s board or equity in the company Start-ups backed by would be better positioned to be acquired or go community as Anduril expects to do with lucrative regime contracts in hand The fact that Trump Jr stands to benefit from his father s presidency so much on top of his family s wealth clearly present conflicting interests disclosed Sherman the CREW expert but it s not illegal Although there is statute aimed at eliminating chosen types of conflicts of interest there s no comprehensive bill aimed at the adult children of high-ranking executives The rules themselves aren t designed unfortunately to force the adult children of establishment bureaucrats to description their financial entanglements Sherman commented But Don Jr and President Trump continue to make the occurrence for why maybe they should The post Donald Trump Jr s Drone Ventures Could Make a Killing Thanks to Dad s Big Beautiful Budget appeared first on The Intercept