Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel filed a federal lawsuit Monday challenging a Biden administration decision to block Nippon’s proposed $15 billion acquisition of the Pittsburgh company and said that the head of the Steelworkers union and a rival steelmaker worked together to scuttle the buyout.

In moving to block the transaction Friday, Biden said U.S. companies producing a large amount of steel need to “keep leading the fight on behalf of America’s national interests,” though Japan, where Nippon is based, is a strong ally.

In separate lawsuits filed Monday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia and the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, the steelmakers allege that it was a political decision made by the Biden administration that had no rational legal basis.

Nippon Steel had promised to invest $2.7 billion in U.S. Steel’s aging blast furnace operations in Gary, Indiana, and Pennsylvania’s Mon Valley, and had said it is best positioned to help the U.S. compete in an industry dominated by the Chinese.

U.S. Steel has warned that, without Nippon Steel’s cash, it will shift production away from the blast furnaces to cheaper non-union electric arc furnaces and move its headquarters out of Pittsburgh.

Berkshire-owned lender sued by CFPB

A lender owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. knowingly issued “unaffordable” home mortgages by ignoring the insufficient income or assets of some borrowers, a top financial regulator alleged in a lawsuit Monday.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau sued Vanderbilt Mortgage & Finance Inc. in US District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, claiming the firm’s lending process “ignored clear and obvious red flags that certain consumers would not be able to repay their loans according to their terms,” according to the complaint.

“Vanderbilt knowingly traps people in risky loans in order to close the deal on selling a manufactured home,” CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said in a statement. “The CFPB’s lawsuit seeks to not only protect homebuyers, but also honest lenders helping people to finance the purchase of an affordable home.”

Representatives for Berkshire Hathaway, based in Omaha, Nebraska, and Maryville, Tennessee-based Vanderbilt didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on the lawsuit.

Vanderbilt is a unit of Clayton Homes, a builder of single-family homes founded in 1956 in Tennessee. Berkshire acquired Clayton in 2003.

Fed vice chair to step down

Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr plans to step down from the role, bypassing a potential battle with President-elect Donald Trump over his position and raising questions about the future of a landmark capital bank proposal.

Barr is preparing to depart from the position on Feb. 28 unless a successor is confirmed earlier, the US central bank said on Monday. He plans to continue to serve as a member of the Fed’s board of governors.

Barr said in November that he planned to serve his entire term when questioned about what he would do if Trump sought to fire him. His term as vice chair for supervision was set to end in July 2026.

Barr oversaw the proposal of tough new rules for the largest U.S. banks, which would have required them to significantly increase their financial reserves. The proposal sparked fierce opposition from the largest financial firms, including JPMorgan Chase, and was sharply criticized by Senate Republicans.

Compiled from Associated Press and Bloomberg reports.