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President Donald Trump has announced that the US government will acquire a 10% equity stake in Intel.

Getting into it: While speaking to reporters at the White House, President Trump announced that the US government will receive a 10% nonvoting equity stake in Intel, a move he said was agreed to in principle during a recent meeting with CEO Lip-Bu Tan. Trump positioned the deal as a way to ensure taxpayers receive a direct return on CHIPS Act funding and called it a “great deal” for both sides. The proposal emerged after Trump publicly criticized Tan’s leadership, citing his former role at Cadence Design Systems (which pleaded guilty to illegal exports to a Chinese military university) and his personal investments in Chinese companies.

Trump initially demanded Tan’s resignation but later softened his stance following a face-to-face meeting, calling Tan “somewhat a victim.” According to Trump, it was during that conversation that he proposed the equity stake, and Tan reportedly responded that he would consider it.

The administration argues the 10% stake is not just financial, but strategic. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick stressed that the US can no longer rely on Taiwan (responsible for nearly all advanced chip manufacturing) due to its geographic vulnerability near China. Lutnick and Trump both said federal money should not be handed out without conditions, with Lutnick stating, “We should get an equity stake for our money.”

The proposal has sparked mixed reactions across the political spectrum. Senator Bernie Sanders expressed support, saying that if companies like Intel profit from public subsidies, taxpayers deserve a share of that success. “Taxpayers should not be providing billions of dollars in corporate welfare… without getting anything in return,” Sanders said.

Senator Rand Paul criticized the plan, calling it a “terrible idea” and warning that government ownership of corporate assets is a slippery slope toward socialism. “If socialism is government owning the means of production, wouldn’t the government owning part of Intel be a step toward socialism?”

Intel, for its part, has not confirmed the deal. A spokesperson for the company declined to comment.