{"id":46621,"date":"2025-08-26T09:14:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-26T14:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/?p=46621"},"modified":"2025-08-26T22:20:02","modified_gmt":"2025-08-27T03:20:02","slug":"trumps-federal-stake-in-intel-prompts-gop-complaints","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/?p=46621","title":{"rendered":"Trump\u2019s federal stake in Intel prompts GOP complaints"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

President Trump\u2019s announcement that the federal government would take a 10 percent stake<\/u><\/a> in Intel, once the nation\u2019s most successful chip manufacturer, has raised alarm bells with conservative Republicans, who see it as part of a bigger trend under Trump of the federal government asserting itself in corporate decisionmaking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump announced his agreement with Intel after he reached a separate deal<\/u><\/a> earlier this month with two other U.S.-based chipmakers, Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), that will see them pay the U.S. government 15 percent of their revenue from AI-chip sales to China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump rankled members of his party in June when his administration agreed to Japan\u2019s Nippon Steel acquiring U.S. Steel on the condition the U.S. government received a \u201cgolden share,\u201d giving it broad authority over U.S. Steel\u2019s governance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conservative Republican critics of the Intel deal warn it\u2019s another step toward \u201csocialism\u201d that undermines the free market and sets a precedent Democrats could exploit when they return to power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some prominent Republican lawmakers and former officeholders are questioning Trump\u2019s rationale and whether Intel is likely to benefit or suffer from partial federal ownership, invoking comparisons to state-owned enterprises in China, Russia and other government-run economies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Thom Tillis\u2002<\/u><\/a>(R-N.C.) said he feels \u201cuncomfortable\u201d about Trump\u2019s use of federal power to influence decisionmaking not just at Intel but at other major companies that have sought to ingratiate themselves with the White House, such as Apple, which this month announced it would increase its commitment to the United States to $600 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t care if it\u2019s a dollar or a billion-dollar stake,\u201d Tillis told journalist Major Garrett. \u201cThat starts feeling like a semi state-owned enterprise \u00e0 la CCCP,\u201d referring to the acronym for the USSR.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t believe the U.S. government should be picking winners and losers,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Rand Paul\u2002<\/u><\/a>(R-Ky.) called it a \u201cterrible idea.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf socialism is government owning the means of production, wouldn\u2019t the government owning part of Intel be step toward socialism?\u201d he posted on social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Former Republican Sen. Jeff Flake\u2002<\/u><\/a>(Ariz.) applauded Paul for speaking out against Trump\u2019s deal with Intel and called on other Republicans to \u201cspeak out as well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Republican critics of the deal are pointing to self-described democratic socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders\u2019s\u2002<\/u><\/a>(I-Vt.) celebration of the move as evidence it is ill-advised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sanders argues American taxpayers \u201chave a right to a reasonable return\u201d on the subsidies they have provided to Intel and other domestic chipmaking companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mike Pence,<\/u><\/a> Trump\u2019s former vice president, however, told Bloomberg that he has \u201cgreat concerns\u201d about the U.S. government having \u201cgolden shares\u201d in Nippon Steel or \u201ctaking a percent of Intel.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pence specifically questioned the logic behind allowing Nvidia and AMD to sell high-tech chips to China in exchange for the U.S. government sharing in the profits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe limitations on the ability of Nvidia to sell chips to China was on the basis of our national security. Simply taking 15 percent of those sales doesn\u2019t serve our national interest or our national security, I would argue,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf I was speaking to the president, I\u2019d encourage him: It\u2019s time to think twice. State-owned enterprise is not the American way. Free enterprise is the American way,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Larry Kudlow,<\/u><\/a> who served as Trump\u2019s National Economic Council director during his first term, said during his show on Fox Business that he is \u201cvery, very uncomfortable\u201d with the government taking a 10 percent stake in Intel, while conservative economist Stephen Moore,<\/u><\/a> who appeared as a guest on the program, argued the government should \u201cdivest of assets, not buy assets.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The conservative National Review warned in an editorial that the \u201cgovernment shouldn\u2019t get into the chip business,\u201d arguing that if it isn\u2019t getting involved in Intel\u2019s business decisions, \u201cthere would be little point in becoming a shareholder.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The criticisms appear to have bounced off Trump, who declared Monday that he\u2019s willing to make deals like the one he struck with Intel \u201call day long.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy are \u2018stupid\u2019 people unhappy with that?\u201d he said of the deal in a post on Truth Social. \u201cI will also help those companies that make such lucrative deals with the United States. \u2026 I love seeing their stock prices go up, making the USA RICHER, AND RICHER.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most Republican senators, with a few exceptions, are leery of calling out Trump for blurring the lines between private and public enterprise for fear of becoming the target of Trump\u2019s wrath, which is quick to rise whenever a fellow Republican criticizes the president.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GOP senators \u2014 including lawmakers who voted for the CHIPS and Science Act in 2022, which provided $53 billion in federal incentives for domestic semiconductor manufacturers \u2014 will have to answer questions next month when they return to Washington about the authorities Trump invoked to gain a substantial share of Intel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. John Cornyn (Texas), a leading Republican supporter of the CHIPS and Science Act, on Sunday reposted on social media a New York Times article about \u201cThe Long, Painful Downfall of Intel,\u201d which detailed the business mistakes that led to the federal government taking a big stake in the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump\u2019s National Economic Director Kevin Hassett explained in a CNBC interview Monday that Trump acquired a federal stake in Intel in exchange for the CHIPS funding Congress approved three years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He emphasized that the federal government would receive nonvoting shares of the company and would not intrude on business decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe equity is not voting so there\u2019s not going to be government intrusion into the business of Intel. It\u2019s more like a down payment on a sovereign wealth fund, which many, many countries have,\u201d he told CNBC\u2019s \u201cSquawk Box.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Republican strategist who requested anonymity to comment argued that the president is justified in seeking more federal control of U.S. Steel and Intel because steel and semiconductors are vital to U.S. defense needs and national security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe list of companies that are on the table now, chipmakers, steel, I think there\u2019s a national security nexus you can argue. People don\u2019t love it, but you understand the argument,\u201d the strategist said. \u201cIntel is the only domestic fabricator. If they went under, it would be a big problem for us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the source raised concerns about statements that Trump is willing to pursue similar deals more broadly, and Hassett\u2019s argument that federal equity in Intel could be viewed as a downpayment on a sovereign wealth fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen Kevin Hassett was talking about we\u2019re going to do this with other companies, that\u2019s the bigger question mark. I don\u2019t think anybody wants a managed economy. I don\u2019t understand how a sovereign wealth fund is going to work in the United States. We\u2019re not a kingdom,\u201d the strategist said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other Republican strategists are predicting bigger blowback from Congress after the August recess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brian Darling, a GOP strategist and former Senate aide, said Trump\u2019s decision to take a stake in the semiconductor company is puzzling given that it\u2019s a major departure from conservative economic principles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s head-scratcher, it really is. When you get the government involved in owning private enterprise, you are creeping toward managed capitalism, a model that China has used,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s not something that free-market-oriented conservatives like. They\u2019re horrified by the idea of the government trying to control corporations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Darling suggested the partial takeover of Intel is at odds with Trump\u2019s efforts to deregulate industries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou got a Trump administration on the one hand reducing regulations and freeing the hands of the private sector to expand, and then on the other hand they\u2019re purchasing ownership interests in a chip company that\u2019s going to make the company less efficient and it\u2019s going to create a precedent for more government ownership of private enterprises. It\u2019s conflicting,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A second Republican strategist and former Hill leadership staffer who requested anonymity to speak warned that Trump could be setting a bad precedent that Democrats will use to push their own agenda in the business sector when they regain control of Washington.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s socialism. It\u2019s nationalizing the means of production. You think the horrifying things that a Democratic administration could do when they\u2019re in power,\u201d the strategist said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The source warned that \u201cas soon as a Democrat gets in\u201d to the White House, they could potentially order companies to \u201crestore DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion]\u201d and \u201ckowtow\u201d to other liberal priorities.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

thehill<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

President Trump\u2019s announcement that the federal government would take a 10 percent stake in Intel, once the nation\u2019s most successful chip manufacturer, has raised alarm bells with conservative Republicans, who see it as part of a bigger trend under Trump of the federal government asserting itself in corporate decisionmaking. Trump announced his agreement with Intel after he reached […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":46622,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1155],"tags":[34486,34487,25040,1230],"class_list":["post-46621","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-federal-shares","tag-gop-complaints","tag-intel","tag-trump"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46621","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=46621"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46621\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46623,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46621\/revisions\/46623"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/46622"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=46621"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=46621"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=46621"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}