Lutnick to Review Pentagon Deals Involving Cerberus Companies

(Bloomberg) -- Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has been chosen by the Department of Defense to review any transactions between the Pentagon and companies associated with Cerberus Capital Management, according to a US official. 

Cerberus, the private equity firm founded by Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg, has sprawling holdings in the national security space, including companies that have won contracts with the Defense Department during his time in office. Lutnick’s role puts him in charge of vetting the transactions of a company that does business with the investment bank he ran until joining the Trump administration last year.

Feinberg has brought four former executives from the firm into the Pentagon. Two have been put in charge of the Office of Strategic Capital and the Economic Defense Unit, which are charged with shoring up supply chains for critical resources. Under Feinberg, the Pentagon, in addition to providing loans, has been taking equity stakes in firms it deems crucial to national security. 

Upon taking office, Feinberg divested his business holdings to trusts for the benefit of his adult children. 

The unusual appointment of Lutnick to oversee deals that pose potential conflicts is meant to go above and beyond Defense Department ethics policies, including those laid out by the Pentagon’s Standards of Conduct office. The US official who disclosed Lutnick’s new role requested anonymity to discuss internal department policy decisions.

But Lutnick and Cerberus have had business ties for more than a decade. Cantor Fitzgerald, the investment bank Lutnick led before becoming commerce secretary, has helped Cerberus oversee its investment funds since at least 2012, according to public filings. Cantor, now run by Lutnick’s adult sons, is the prime broker for an assortment of Cerberus funds.

Cantor and its subsidiary Newmark have also partnered with Cerberus on major real estate financing deals involving an office tower in Los Angeles, a Prime Data Centers development and distribution centers for Albertsons supermarkets. Just last month, Newmark negotiated a new lease for Cerberus on its headquarters at 875 Third Ave. in Manhattan. 

Democratic lawmakers have raised questions about Lutnick’s own potential conflicts of interest this year. In February, three senators sought information about a deal struck by the Commerce Department to invest $1.6 billion in a rare earths company, USA Rare Earth, Inc. That day, the company also announced that it had worked with Lutnick’s former firm to raise private funds.

The Commerce Department, Cerberus and Cantor didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Some Cerberus-owned defense contractors have been awarded new business from Feinberg’s department. Last month, M1 Support Services announced it had won a 26-year contract, with a $10 billion ceiling, to train army helicopter pilots. A year ago, Stratolaunch, a hypersonic testing firm owned by Cerberus, won a $90 million contract from the Pentagon. 

In 2024, Cerberus acquired a controlling stake in M1, which is among the 100 largest contractors to the Pentagon, according to data published by the General Services Administration. Data for 2025 have not yet been published, but Cerberus’ acquisition of M1 could vault it back into those ranks, Bloomberg previously reported. 

News of the M1 helicopter-training contract drew the attention of Laura Loomer, the right-wing provocateur and ally of President Donald Trump. She said on social media that “the scale and timing of the award has now left the process open to public skepticism.” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell rebuffed her accusation, saying “There are no conflicts of interest between Deputy Secretary of War Steve Feinberg and Cerberus.”

Asked about Lutnick’s new role, the US official who disclosed the arrangement said Cerberus alumni within the Defense Department “are required to recuse themselves from any transactions involving Cerberus assets” and that any agency “transactions that touch on Cerberus business are presented to Commerce Secretary Lutnick for review and approval.” 

It is unclear whether Lutnick reviewed the M1 and Stratolaunch contracts — and what exactly the extent of his purview is.

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