Quick Read
- Stephen Miller sold $50,000–$100,000 in MP Materials shares after a major Trump administration deal with the company.
- The deal caused MP Materials’ stock to surge, and Miller sold at its historic high.
- Miller did not participate in negotiations but oversaw related policy areas.
- Ethics experts say the timing raises concerns, though no laws were clearly broken.
- Miller’s wife also held shares, and he divested from other companies with government ties.
Stephen Miller’s Stock Sale Raises Eyebrows in Washington
In the swirl of power, politics, and big business, timing is everything. That’s exactly what has thrust Stephen Miller, a senior adviser to President Donald Trump, into the spotlight this December. Miller sold a significant batch of shares—valued between $50,000 and $100,000—in MP Materials, a Las Vegas-based mining company, just weeks after the Trump administration announced a game-changing deal supporting the very same company. Las Vegas Sun reports that the sale occurred on August 14, 2025, at the stock’s historic high, following a surge sparked by the administration’s intervention.
Inside the Deal: Government Bets Big on Rare Earths
MP Materials, hardly a household name until recently, sits at the heart of America’s strategic push to secure its supply of rare earth minerals—elements vital for everything from electric cars to defense systems. The company’s fortunes changed dramatically in July, when the Trump administration revealed a $400 million investment for a 15% equity stake, plus a $150 million Defense Department loan and a decade-long price guarantee for its products. The government also committed to purchasing all magnets produced by a new facility, instantly making it MP Materials’ largest shareholder.
This high-stakes intervention came amid escalating trade tensions with China, which controls much of the world’s rare earth supply. After Beijing restricted exports in response to U.S. tariffs, Washington’s efforts to boost domestic production became urgent. The result? MP Materials’ stock price soared—from $30.03 to $76.58 between early July and mid-August, before peaking just shy of $99 in October. Miller’s August sale, at the height of this rally, was part of a broader divestment from nearly two dozen companies, some of which, like Intel and Westinghouse, also benefited from subsequent Trump administration support.
Ethics Under the Microscope: Was There a Conflict of Interest?
Did Miller cross any legal lines? According to government disclosures and statements from the White House, Miller did not participate directly in the negotiations with MP Materials. Still, as deputy chief of staff, he oversaw a broad portfolio, including minerals policy. A White House spokesperson, Abigail Jackson, insisted, “there are no conflicts of interest,” pointing to Miller’s proactive coordination with the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) and his early divestment of stock holdings.
The timeline, however, is where ethics experts see potential trouble. Miller began consulting with OGE before entering the White House, but it reportedly took months for guidance and paperwork to catch up. Critics argue that, given the administration’s own equity stake in MP Materials and Miller’s senior position, the divestiture could—and should—have happened sooner. Hui Chen, a former government ethics adviser, put it bluntly: “It shouldn’t have taken that long.”
Robert Weissman, co-president of the watchdog group Public Citizen, noted that while there’s no clear evidence of broken rules, the optics are troubling: “This is a large investment in an obscure company that just happened to massively benefit from the unusual interventions of the Trump administration. At minimum, it’s a really bad look.”
The Web of Connections: Investors and Influence
MP Materials’ ties to Trump world run deeper than government contracts. Gina Rinehart, a major investor in the company, has also backed Truth Social, the former president’s social media platform, and appeared at Mar-a-Lago. Andy Litinsky, brother to MP Materials’ CEO, co-founded Truth Social and once competed on Trump’s reality show “The Apprentice.” While none of this proves direct impropriety, it underscores the overlapping circles of influence at play.
Miller’s financial disclosure forms reveal that his wife, Katie Miller, also held shares in MP Materials, and that he divested from other companies linked to Trump administration deals, including GE Aerospace, Palantir Technologies, Amazon, and Intel. Some of these sales were previously reported, but the full scope of Miller’s August trading spree had not been made public until now.
To mitigate potential conflicts, federal employees are typically advised to swap individual company shares for managed funds overseen by outside advisers. In Miller’s case, the process dragged on for months after Trump’s 2024 re-election and Miller’s return to the White House. The Office of Government Ethics, for its part, did not respond to media inquiries.
MP Materials, meanwhile, declined to comment on the controversy.
While there is no evidence that Stephen Miller violated ethics laws in his trading activities, the episode highlights the ongoing challenges of maintaining public trust when senior officials hold—and divest—stakes in companies that stand to benefit from government action. In an era where transparency is increasingly demanded, even the appearance of a conflict can erode confidence in the system.