Trump on US taking stakes in businesses: I want to try to get as much as I can

The U.S. government may take equity stakes in more companies going forward, possibly through the creation of an American sovereign wealth fund, according to National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, one of President Donald Trump’s top economic advisers.

Hassett’s comments Monday followed the administration’s move to acquire nearly a 10% stake in Intel, financed with funds originally designated for grants under the CHIPS and Science Act passed during the Biden administration. “It’s like a down payment on a sovereign wealth fund, which many countries have,” Hassett told CNBC, pointing to similar investment vehicles in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.

The federal government has previously taken ownership stakes in private companies, most notably during the 2008 financial crisis, but Hassett emphasized that the Intel deal was a “very, very special circumstance” tied to the large amount of CHIPS Act support directed toward the chipmaker. He suggested further transactions were likely, either in semiconductors or other strategic industries.

The CHIPS Act was designed to expand U.S. semiconductor production by providing capital and financing to both domestic and foreign companies manufacturing in America. Since its passage, it has spurred more than $200 billion in private investment, according to the Council on Foreign Relations, and prompted companies to announce new construction and manufacturing jobs. Hassett contrasted this with past funding efforts, saying previously money had been “going out and disappearing into the ether.”

While he insisted the administration is “absolutely not in the business of picking winners and losers,” the government is now Intel’s single largest shareholder. It has also taken a “golden share” in U.S. Steel as part of approving its merger with Nippon Steel of Japan. Trump has additionally said he negotiated agreements with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and with AMD that would give the U.S. a share of revenue from certain chip sales in China—15% in Nvidia’s case.