Howard Lutnick during his Senate confirmation hearing on January 29, 2025 (Joshua Sukoff/Shutterstock.com)
After President Donald Trump asserted that the United States obtained a ten-percent stake in computer chip manufacturer Intel at no cost, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick now says the government should pursue similar deals with other major companies, a proposal some critics liken to communism.
“I paid zero for Intel, it is worth approximately 11 billion dollars,” Trump wrote in his signature all-caps style on Monday. “All goes to the USA. Why are ‘stupid’ people unhappy with that? I will make deals like that for our Country all day long. I will also help those companies that make such lucrative deals with the United States States. I love seeing their stock price go up, making the USA RICHER, AND RICHER. More jobs for America!!! Who would not want to make deals like that?”
According to The New York Times, “the government is set to give Intel $8.9 billion — the remainder of the amount that was earmarked for the U.S. chipmaker as part of the bipartisan CHIPS Act, which President Joseph R. Biden Jr. signed into law.”
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Appearing on CNBC on Tuesday, Secretary Lutnick was asked, if the Intel deal is acceptable, what about defense companies?
“Why shouldn’t the U.S. government say, ‘You know what? We use Palantir services. We would like a piece of Palantir. We use Boeing services, we would like a piece of Boeing,'” host Andrew Ross Sorkin asked. “There are a lot of businesses that do business with the U.S. government that benefit by doing business with the U.S. government. I guess the question is, where’s the line?”
Secretary Lutnick said, “there’s a monstrous discussion about defense.”
“I mean, Lockheed Martin makes 97% of their revenue from the U.S. government. They are basically an arm of the U.S. government,” Lutnick said. “They make exquisite munitions. I mean, amazing things that can knock a missile out of the air when it’s coming towards you.”
He noted that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and his deputy “are on it, and they’re thinking about it, but I tell you what, there’s a lot of talking that needs to be had about how do we finance our munitions acquisitions?”
“I tell you the way it has been done” in the past, “has been a giveaway.”
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Describing it as “a roughly $9 billion deal,” CNBC reported that “Trump’s move to take ownership of a chunk of Intel, an embattled chipmaker, is a major escalation in his efforts to achieve his economic goals by exerting more and more government control over the private economy.”
CNBC also noted that “the move has drawn heated criticism — including from some conservatives, who warn that Trump’s action cuts against free-market principles and poses risks for both Intel and the economy.”
Critics blasted the nearly unprecedented policy of having the federal government own a portion of major corporations, something that previously was done only in times of crisis, like a national emergency or the 2008 global financial meltdown.
“Quick question for the ‘it can’t happen here’ folks. What other forms of government nationalized companies?” asked Fred Wellman, host of “On Democracy.”
“What do we call reactionary nationalism plus economic socialism?” posited political analyst Armin Thomas.
“A nation owning its weapons producers is hardly unprecedented but like … what’s the point?” asked technologist Matt Spence, a former U.S. Senate advisor. “Have they articulated a goal that taking a stake in these companies will accomplish?”
Responding to Lutnick’s Intel announcement last week, GOP strategist Mike Madrid asked, “What’s it called when the government owns the means of production?”
“Crazy,” declared former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul. “When will conservatives start criticizing these obvious communist policies by Trump?”
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