US Steel and Japan’s Nippon Steel on Monday (Jan 6) filed lawsuits against the government of Joe Biden for his blocking of a merger deal worth up to 14 billion US dollars, multiple American media networks reported.

New York Times reported that the lawsuit was filed in a federal court in Washington, accusing Biden and some officials in his administration of 'corrupting the review process for political gain.'

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It claimed the steelmakers accused them of harming steel workers and American steel industry over 'national security pretenses', the report said.

This is their last effort to revive the attempted merger, which is also opposed by incoming US President Donald Trump.

Just as the lawsuit was filed, Trump posted on Truth Social: "Why would they want to sell U.S. Steel now when Tariffs will make it a much more profitable and valuable company? Wouldn’t it be nice to have U.S. Steel, once the greatest company in the World, lead the charge toward greatness again? It can all happen very quickly!"

Biden had blocked the deal last week, citing national security.

A report in The Washington Post said a second lawsuit was filed in which the firms sued another steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs and its CEO Lourenco Goncalves. That suit also named David McCall, the chief of United Steelworkers Union, as a defendant.

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Nippon Steel had earlier said that it is considering taking legal action against the US government after its acquisition proposal was blocked by Biden.

CNN Business had quoted Nippon Steel president Tadashi Imai as saying earlier, "We are considering this as an important option. I think we can take action, including announcing (a response), without taking too much time."

Biden blocked the $13.4 billion acquisition deal on Friday (Jan 3).

Both companies called it an overt use of executive authority in the closing days of the Biden administration, which will formally step out when Trump takes the oath of office on January 20.

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Imai added, "We are entitled to a proper review. The review process to date and the US government's decision is not a very proper review. Our company cannot allow this to continue. Our company cannot allow this to continue, so we are considering all options for future action."

The deal was announced a year ago and has been opposed by both Democrats and Republicans, including Biden and Trump.

The deal has also been opposed by influential labour unions like United Steelworkers (USW).

The USW commended Biden's decision to block the deal, calling it the right move for the members of the union and national security. 

The union added that the recent performance of US Steel, according to their financial performance, shows that the company could remain strong and resilient without the acquisition.

However, the CEO of US Steel, David Burrit, called Biden's decision shameful and corrupt.

US Steel has claimed that it might be forced to shut down its plants and mills if it doesn't get an investment of $2.7 billion. This is the same amount that Nippon Steel has proposed as a part of its purchase. 

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According to the World Steel Association data, Japan's top steelmaker's effort to acquire US Steel would have created the world's third-largest steelmaker.

The Committee for Foreign Investments in the United States (CFIUS) notified the US President in December that its investigation couldn't reach any consensus on whether the sale of America's iconic company to Nippon would pose a national security risk.

Citing this, CFIUS left the decision of the sale to Biden, who blocked it.

(With input from agencies)