WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A powerful national security panel was divided in its recommendation to President Donald Trump on the national security implications of Nippon Steel's bid for U.S. Steel, a White House official told Reuters on Thursday.

However, a majority of the agencies that make up the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. believe that any national security risks posed by the deal can likely by addressed through mitigation, the person said, declining to be named because the recommendation was not public.

Japan's Nippon Steel declined to comment. U.S. Steel did not immediately respond to a request for comment.