It’s not a shock that partisan politics are visible in October of a presidential election year.  It would, however, be shocking if partisanship is allowed to bend an important national security decision—a decision that will sound loudly for U.S. strategic and economic interests, long after the current political roar fades.

The decision concerns Nippon Steel’s $14 billion agreement to buy U.S. Steel, announced late last year.  This would be an unremarkable corporate transaction—it ranks only number ten on a mergers and acquisitions list for 2023—were it not for the international angle.  

Yes, the U.S. and Japan are close allies, and yes, the Department of Defense is actively soliciting Japanese help on weapons and logistics.  Yet nevertheless, the purchase is on hold, pending a review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a federal interagency group.  

The guiding language of CFIUS is clear: Its mandate is to examine national security concerns, not political footballs. To that end, the guidance mentions “national security” ten times, while “politics,” “political parties,” and “elections” get zero mentions. 

Given the strategic closeness of the U.S. and Japan, the CFIUS review........

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