Not even shutting down the government can stop Republicans from forcing their way into corporate boardrooms these days. The federal government is, at the moment, incapable of completing its most basic and routine task"passing a budget"and yet it is simultaneously expanding its portfolio to include a 10 percent ownership stake in an Alaskan mining company. That company, Trilogy Metals, will receive a $35.6 million "investment," the Trump administration announced on Monday. In return, the federal government will own 10 percent of the company (and will have the option to buy another 7.5 percent at some later date). The deal seems to follow the same blueprint that the Trump administration has used to seize stakes in U.S. Steel, Intel, and others: Trilogy does something that the White House has decided is essential for national security"in this case, mining for cobalt, copper, and other critical metals"and therefore the government must have a stake in the company's future.