President Donald Trump introduced Friday that the U.S. authorities could be taking a ten% stake in Intel, the struggling U.S.-based chip producer. However the president’s alternative of phrases will certainly elevate various eyebrows, particularly because the Trump regime has beforehand mentioned the federal authorities can have no company governance position on the tech firm.
“It’s my Nice Honor to report that the US of America now absolutely owns and controls 10% of INTEL, a Nice American Firm that has an much more unbelievable future,” Trump wrote on Fact Social.
The federal government taking a ten% possession stake in Intel shouldn’t be shocking, as rumors concerning the deal leaked final week. However what would possibly shock folks is Trump’s use of the phrase “management.” No person appears to know what meaning but.
“I negotiated this Take care of Lip-Bu Tan, the Extremely Revered Chief Government Officer of the Firm. The USA paid nothing for these Shares, and the Shares are actually valued at roughly $11 Billion {Dollars},” Trump continued.
“This can be a nice Deal for America and, additionally, an ideal Deal for INTEL. Constructing vanguard Semiconductors and Chips, which is what INTEL does, is key to the way forward for our Nation,” in accordance with Trump. The president ended his submit with the now-customary, “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” and “Thanks on your consideration to this matter.”
Lutnick’s denials on Tuesday
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was requested concerning the plans for a authorities stake in Intel throughout an interview with CNBC on Tuesday. Lutnick was particularly quizzed whether or not the federal government would get a governance position at Intel, one thing the Commerce Secretary insisted wouldn’t occur.
“Do you get governance right here?” CNBC host David Faber requested.
“No, no, no, no, no…” Lutnick mentioned time and again to the query, suggesting the complete concept was absurd. “Come on, cease that stuff. It’s not governance, proper, we’re simply what was a grant below Biden into fairness for the Trump administration, for the American folks.”
Faber identified that every other entity proudly owning 10% would count on to have a say in how that firm was run. “Why wouldn’t you need some…” Faber began to say earlier than Lutnick drowned him out by repeatedly saying “non-voting, non-voting.”
Faber famous that the U.S. authorities bought a so-called “golden share” when Japan-based Nippon Metal tried to purchase U.S. Metal, which means that Trump can doubtlessly veto company selections he doesn’t like. It’s unclear at this level what sort of affect Trump can have at Intel with this new 10% stake, which possible includes changing $10.86 billion in grants for Intel from the Biden-era CHIPS ACT into fairness, in accordance with reporting Tuesday the New York Instances.
Who really negotiated the deal?
Lutnick was the primary to interrupt the information on social media in a tweet shortly earlier than Trump, although the Commerce Secretary’s announcement clearly carries much less weight in an more and more authoritarian nation just like the U.S. It’s not actual till Expensive Chief says it’s actual.
“BIG NEWS: The USA of America now owns 10% of Intel, one in every of our nice American know-how firms. This historic settlement strengthens U.S. management in semiconductors, which is able to each develop our economic system and assist safe America’s technological edge,” Lutnick wrote.
BIG NEWS: The USA of America now owns 10% of Intel, one in every of our nice American know-how firms.
This historic settlement strengthens U.S. management in semiconductors, which is able to each develop our economic system and assist safe America’s technological edge.
Because of Intel… pic.twitter.com/AYMuX14Rgi
— Howard Lutnick (@howardlutnick) August 22, 2025
Lutnick’s tweet was despatched at 4:10 p.m. ET and included a photograph of him with Intel CEO Lip Bu-Tan. That presumably irked Trump, who despatched his personal submit on Fact Social virtually an hour later, at 5:04 p.m. ET, and included the declare “I negotiated this Take care of Lip-Bu Tan” within the second sentence.
Trump reportedly met with Tan final week after the president known as for the Intel CEO’s resignation over alleged hyperlinks to China. Trump insisted there was “no different answer to this drawback” however modified his tune after the assembly.
What do the Dems say?
Of us on the left have been divided on whether or not Trump’s plan for Intel is an efficient one for America. Sen. Bernie Sanders, an impartial from Vermont who caucuses with the Democrats, mentioned earlier this week that he helps the plan for the U.S. authorities to take an fairness stake.
“If microchip firms make a revenue from the beneficiant grants they obtain from the federal authorities, the taxpayers of America have a proper to an affordable return on that funding,” Sanders informed Reuters.
However Sen. Mark Warner, a Democrat from Virginia, wouldn’t commit so emphatically a technique or one other. In an e mail to Gizmodo, Warner mentioned taking an fairness stake “could or is probably not the fitting strategy,” whereas emphasizing that cutting-edge chips shouldn’t “circulation to China with out restraint” if that undercuts investments made within the U.S.
“We want a technique that protects American innovation, strengthens our workforce, and retains the applied sciences of the longer term firmly in American palms,” Warner mentioned. “Moreover, given the administration’s current strategy to different high-profile know-how transactions, Congress should apply thorough scrutiny for potential conflicts of curiosity or undue interference in private-sector selections unrelated to nationwide safety.”
Intel is a drop within the ocean
Warner is completely proper that Congress must look into any conflicts of curiosity or “undue interference” on personal firms. However given the present trajectory of the U.S.—the place we’ve bought armed troops on the streets of D.C. and harassment campaigns towards the president’s opponents—it appears unlikely that Congress will probably be deploying any checks or balances quickly.
