Trump Admin Seeks to Turn Biden’s Intel Deal Into Profit for Americans

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said during a Tuesday interview that the United States is pursuing an equity stake in Intel.

“We should get an equity stake for our money, so we’ll deliver the money which was already committed under the Biden administration,” Lutnick said during an interview with CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street.”

“We’ll get equity in return for it,” he added, as well as “get a good return for the American taxpayer.” Lutnick further stated that the potential arrangement would not provide the government with voting rights.

“It’s not governance, we’re just converting what was a grant under Biden into equity for the Trump administration, for the American people,” he said. “Nonvoting.”

The effort comes as Intel announced on Monday that Japan’s SoftBank will invest $2 billion in the company’s common stock. “We are very pleased to deepen our relationship with SoftBank, a company that’s at the forefront of so many areas of emerging technology and innovation and shares our commitment to advancing U.S. technology and manufacturing leadership,” Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan said. “[SoftBank CEO and Chairman Masayoshi Son] and I have worked closely together for decades, and I appreciate the confidence he has placed in Intel with this investment.”

Although President Donald Trump previously urged Tan to resign due to his connections to the Chinese Communist Party, the Trump administration has since shifted its course.

“The CEO of INTEL is highly CONFLICTED and must resign, immediately,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on August 7. “There is no other solution to this problem. Thank you for your attention to this problem!” The reversal followed a White House meeting with Tan, Lutnick, and Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent.

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