The U.S. government is becoming a major Intel shareholder by converting billions in grants and pledges into a roughly 10% equity stake. The administration frames such deals as patriotic economic intervention and signals interest in acquiring stakes in other companies, including defense contractors. Free-market conservatives warn that government ownership risks politicizing corporate decisions, rewarding executives for politically prudent but financially poor choices, and undermining innovation. Critics argue customers may purchase Intel chips to stay on the administration's good side, leading to short-term gains but long-term harm from inferior products. Some Republican lawmakers call the move a step toward socialism.
Donald Trump has a message for critics who think turning the U.S. government into a major stockholder of Intel is a "socialist" move: More is coming. "I will make deals like that for our Country all day long," the president posted on Truth Social after critics piled on, adding later about future ownership stakes, "I want to try and get as much as I can."
Scott Lincicome, a Cato Institute trade expert, says Intel could end up making decisions now to please Trump even if they're impractical, say, by going ahead with plans to open a long-promised chipmaking factory in Ohio. And even short-term gains from government ownership, such as more companies buying Intel semiconductors, will hurt business in the end by saddling those companies with inferior chips.
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