The legal procedures related to Nippon Steel Corp and United States Steel Corp's lawsuit to nullify the U.S. government's decision to block their merger may be extended, with the companies consenting to pushing oral arguments back to May 12 from April 24, a filing released Monday showed.

According to a U.S. Steel filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday, the Justice Department asked the court for the extension in a motion submitted the same day. The government seeks more time to complete its ongoing discussions about the merger with the two steelmakers, with the goal of removing the need for resolution of the litigation on the merits.

The document noted that both Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel had consented to the government's motion, though at the time of filing the court had yet to rule on the matter.

The government is also seeking to extend by 21 days the briefing deadlines in the lawsuit that the two firms lodged against former President Joe Biden and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, a panel of U.S. federal agencies involved in screening the proposed merger.

In early January, Biden issued an order to block the $14.1 billion takeover of U.S. Steel by the Japanese company, citing national security grounds, following a recommendation by the panel also known as CFIUS.

Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel, which announced their merger plan in December 2023, filed the lawsuit after Biden's decision, claiming that CFIUS's screening process and recommendation were influenced by the former president.

In the months leading up to the Nov 5 presidential election, Biden had aligned with the leadership of the powerful United Steelworkers union to voice opposition to the sale of U.S. Steel, headquartered in Pennsylvania, which was a key battleground state in the race to the White House.

President Donald Trump, who won the election, was also against the sale. He has since said that Nippon Steel acquiring a minority stake in U.S. Steel would not cause any issues, but a foreign company owning the iconic producer would not be good psychologically.