US Steel, Japan’s Nippon Sue Biden Administration Over Merger Block

US Steel and Japan’s Nippon, whose $14.3 billion merger was blocked by President Joe Biden last week, have sued the U.S. government, alleging that Biden’s executive order blocking the companies from merging was signed for purely political reasons.

“Today’s legal action demonstrates Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel’s continued commitment to complete the transaction, despite political interference,” the companies said in a statement.

The lawsuit came as no surprise. On the day Biden issued the order blocking the deal, the companies called it a “clear violation of due process” and said they had “no choice but to take all appropriate action to protect our legal rights.”

Biden has spoken out for months about his opposition to the deal, and the companies’ statement said Biden “ignored the rule of law to curry favor with the United Steel Workers union and advance his political agenda.”