HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — 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 hearing for a lawsuit that Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel brought against U.S. President Joe Biden's administration is scheduled for February and March, Kyodo news agency reported on Monday, without citing sources.

Another Joe from Delaware—the one finishing up his final days in the White House—apparently sees himself in the same light, having stepped in to nix a $15 billion deal between U.S. Steel and Japan’s Nippon Steel.

The companies, whose $55 a share cash deal to acquire U.S. Steel was first proposed Dec. 18, 2023, are working against a June 18 deadline for the merger.

Japan Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba asked U.S. President Joe Biden to allay concerns in the Japanese and U.S. business communities over the status of Nippon Steel’s 5401.T planned acquisition of U.S.

Young Slams Biden For Blocking The Nippon Steel Deal: ‘No Substantiated Evidence’ To Justify It During Thursday’s Senate Banking Committee hearing, Sen. Todd Young (R-IN) questioned Trump’s Housing and Urban Development Secretary Nominee Scott Turner,