The U.S. government has converted $8.9 billion in previously awarded CHIPS and Science Act grants into a 10 percent, non-voting equity stake in Intel Corp., giving Washington roughly 433 million shares of the nation’s largest chipmaker. Including $2.2 billion already disbursed under the same law, public support tied to the deal totals $11.1 billion. President Donald Trump hailed the move as the first in a broader effort to secure domestic semiconductor production and asserted that similar arrangements could follow. Defending the decision in a CNBC interview on Tuesday, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said earlier subsidies had been “corporate giveaways” that offered taxpayers no return. He described the CHIPS Act as “mishandled” and said the administration is considering the creation of a National and Economic Security Fund, while stressing there are no immediate plans for a sovereign wealth fund. Lutnick signaled that defense contractors, naming Lockheed Martin—which derives 97 percent of its sales from the federal government—could be candidates for future equity deals. Intel, in an SEC filing, cautioned that government ownership may complicate overseas sales, which accounted for 76 percent of its 2024 revenue, and could invite litigation or additional regulation. Shares of Intel traded slightly lower in pre-market activity, and analysts described the arrangement as a short-term liquidity boost that leaves long-term competitiveness questions unresolved. The intervention has sparked ideological rifts within the Republican Party. Senators Rand Paul and Thom Tillis warned that federal ownership of industrial assets edges toward socialism, while the White House argued taxpayers should share upside from strategic investments. With officials openly weighing stakes in other sectors, the Intel transaction marks a significant shift toward more activist U.S. industrial policy.