TOKYO -- Nippon Steel's plan to buy U.S. Steel has entered a new phase with the companies' declaration of a full-scale legal war against the U.S. government. They hope the lawsuits will overturn President Joe Biden's order to give up the acquisition.

The bid by Japan's Nippon Steel to buy U.S. Steel may have a new lease on life, even as the potential for a new bid for the storied Pittsburgh steelmaker began to emerge Monday.

The usually reticent ally is making it clear that it will not go quietly in its fight to overturn President Biden’s decision to block Nippon Steel’s $14.1 billion takeover bid of U.S. Steel, with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba warning this week that the rejection could have real consequences for the bilateral relationship,

President-elect Donald Trump has also expressed strong opposition to Japanese ownership of infrastructure giant.

Takahiro Mori said Nippon Steel's proposed acquisition of U.S. Steel does not bring any national security risks, despite Joe Biden's insistence otherwise.

The bid by Japan’s Nippon Steel to buy U.S. Steel may have a new lease on life after the Biden Administration extended a deadline for the Japanese steelmaker to abandon plans to acquire the storied Pittsburgh company after President Joe Biden blocked the deal.

The proposed deal kicked up an election year political maelstrom across America’s industrial heartland and quickly drew vows by Biden and Trump from the campaign trail in a critical battleground state to block the deal.