Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday the Trump administration may pursue stakes in more industries following last week’s $11 billion Intel deal.
“President Trump is going to be the only president in modern times who creates assets for the American people rather than debt. And, we looked he saw that Intel had been given grants and wanted to know why the American taxpayer wouldn’t participate in the upside. So there’s $11 billion of immediate value. And I think there’s a very good chance here that it could be much more,” Bessent commented on Mornings with Maria, after being pressed on whether more deals are ahead.
“Are you considering taking stakes in further semiconductor companies, I mean, with the president? Consider taking a stake in Nvidia,” Bartiromo had asked.
“I don’t think Nvidia needs financial support. So, you know, that that seems, not on the table right now, but could there be other industries, where you know, that we’re reshaping, something like shipbuilding, that. Sure. There could be things like that. And these are critical industries that we have to, we have to be self-sufficient in the United States,” Bessent responded. “Think about it, 80-90% of the precursor pharma products are made overseas. And that’s just unacceptable because, you know, as we saw during Covid, the manufacturing countries will keep it for themselves.”
Congressional Republicans are divided over the Intel deal, with Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) arguing the federal government “should not be buying companies.”
Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., one of the architects of the CHIPS Act, had similar sentiments: “It was not the intent of the law, you know, an equity stake to be taken. But it was the intent to ensure that we enhance our economic security and national security, which is the objective that they are trying, that the administration is trying to advance.”
If socialism is government owning the means of production, wouldn’t the government owning part of Intel be a step toward socialism?
Terrible idea.
What to know about the US getting a stake in Intel | AP News https://t.co/3UHCM39NUB
— Rand Paul (@RandPaul) August 20, 2025
