Unitd States Acquires 10% of Intel Company After Donald Trump Leans Hard on the CEO

24th August 2025

On August 22-23, 2025, President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. government would acquire a 9.9% stake in Intel, roughly valued at $8.9 billion, by converting funds previously allocated under the CHIPS and Science Act along with the Secure Enclave program into equity.

This move is structured as a passive equity investment—the government will hold no board seats, no governance rights, and will generally vote with the company's board in shareholder decisions, with a few limited exceptions.

Why Is This Legal?

Pre-authorized funds: The money used to purchase the shares wasn't newly appropriated—rather, it consisted of $5.7 billion in unpaid CHIPS Act grants and $3.2 billion from the Secure Enclave program—both already allocated to Intel under previous legislation

Congressional authority: The CHIPS Act and Secure Enclave program authorize these funds. Although these grants were originally structured as non-dilutive, the administration converted them into equity—an unusual but not necessarily unlawful use—so long as it remains within statutory boundaries .

Precedents for intervention: While direct government equity stakes in private companies outside of full-scale bailouts are rare, the government has previously taken minority stakes in critical industries under exceptional circumstances (e.g., the GM bailout). Legal experts are closely watching to see if this new model sets a broader precedent.

What Pressure Was Used on Intel's CEO?

Tensions preceded the deal:

On August 11, 2025, Trump publicly demanded the resignation of Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan, citing concerns about his ties to Chinese tech firms

Shortly afterward, Tan met with Trump, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent at the White House. The meeting was described as "interesting," and after it, relations improved significantly

Trump later claimed that Tan "walked in wanting to keep his job and... ended up giving us $10 billion," portraying it as a negotiation win for the U.S.

In short, the deal emerged in the aftermath of public pressure and personal negotiations, but ultimately was framed as mutually agreed upon.

NBC 22 August 2025
[url=https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/intel-agrees-us-stake-in-company-how-much-what-to-know-rcna226667]U.S. takes 10% stake in Intel as Trump flexes more power over big business[/url]