New drone maker partly owned by Trump sons hopes to win Pentagon contracts

NEW YORK — One sticks out among the dozens of businesses vying for Pentagon contracts to provide attack drones.

Powerus has an additional advantage: it is partially controlled by President Donald Trump's two eldest sons. Powerus is rich and expanding as it acquires competitors.

The Trump family has come under fire for growing their real estate company into nations that are attempting to win over the president and for profiting billions of dollars from cryptocurrency projects that profit from his policies. New ownership stakes in military contractors that supply everything from computer hardware and AI chips to rocket parts and rare earth magnets are receiving less attention.

Kathleen Clark, a government ethics specialist at Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, stated, "It's corruption." "Decision-makers in the government will be under pressure to use contract awards to benefit the president's family."

Now that the Trump administration has banned the import of armed drones from China, the next Trump endeavor aims to secure a portion of the $1.1 billion allocated by the Pentagon to establish a U.S. manufacturing base.

According to Powerus, there is nothing wrong with it competing for government funds that could increase the wealth of the president's sons.

"There isn't any conflict there. In reference to the Trump brothers, co-founder Brett Velicovich remarked, "Whatever they're doing, is what they're doing." "Politics is not our focus at the company."

The Trump Organization sent a statement from Eric Trump in response to a request for comment regarding any conflicts: "I am incredibly proud to invest in companies I believe in." It's obvious that drones are the way of the future.

Powerus, which was founded almost a year ago by veterans of the U.S. Army Special Operations, produces drones primarily for commercial applications, such as applying fertilizer or extinguishing forest fires. However, as it wreaks havoc on U.S.-allied Gulf states, it is rapidly building up to provide the Defense Department with armed drones similar to those employed by Russia, Ukraine, and, more recently, Iran. In the last six months, the corporation has acquired three competitors, and it intends to acquire more. In order to finance the purchasing binge, it just obtained $60 million from investors. It intends to obtain additional funding through a "reverse merger," in which a private firm obtains a public listing by purchasing an existing stock market company, typically one with minimal or no activities.

In this instance, the public company is Aureus Greenway Holdings, a Florida company registered on the Nasdaq stock exchange that owns a few golf courses and is partially controlled by Eric and Don Jr.

Through a venture capital business named 1789 Capital, Don Jr. is the most active of the two elder brothers in government contracting firms.

Don Jr. became a partner of 1789 Capital shortly after Trump's reelection, and the company subsequently embarked on its own acquisition binge, investing in 25 businesses in a single year. According to statistics from research firm Pitchbook, it has only made six purchases in the previous two years. The majority of its targets seem to be pursuing or have already secured federal contracts or taxpayer monies.

In order to support their father in reviving America's manufacturing base, Don Jr. and his brother have also established their own investment firm to purchase shares in American businesses. Trump's chief business attorney filed a revised document with the language removed after The Associated Press questioned him about a regulatory filing that claimed the firm would target businesses applying for federal awards.

Don Jr. seems prepared to assist Powerus. He looks to be educated about the technology, has openly supported Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth when he was facing criticism during his confirmation hearings, and has spoken out for the necessity of armed drones.

Co-founder Velocovich stated he wasn't an expert in finance and didn't know why Powerus chose to join with a Trump company rather than the hundreds of others on Nasdaq with little to no activities.

Regardless of the investors, he stated, "Our focus is 100% on getting the right technology in the hands of the warfighter."