U.S. President Joe Biden violated the Constitution by blocking Nippon Steel's $14.9 billion bid for U.S. Steel through a sham national security review, the companies alleged in a lawsuit they said was filed on Monday.

The suit, filed Monday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, alleges that it was a political decision and violated the companies' due process.

Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel sued President Joe Biden on Monday over his decision to bar them from joining forces, alleging that he had violated their constitutional rights to due process in a corrupt bid to obtain political support for his reelection campaign.