President Donald Trump is moving forward with plans for the U.S. federal government to invest in the computer company Intel.
However, the move has led to backlash from some free-market Republicans.
A handful of Republican senators have voiced complaints about Trump’s move to give the U.S. a 10% stake in the company.
Intel was once the top American chipmaker before falling into decline.
In a post on X, Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) wrote:
“If socialism is government owning the means of production, wouldn’t the government owning part of Intel be a step toward socialism? Terrible idea.”
The Trump administration says its deal with Intel is about national security and keeping America competitive against China in the race to lead on artificial intelligence (AI).
The ruling Chinese Communist Party has invested heavily in AI tech, posing a threat to the United States.
Trump has said America “paid nothing” for the investment.
The shares were converted from $11 billion pledged by the Biden administration under the CHIPS Act.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote:
“The United States paid nothing for these Shares, and the Shares are now valued at approximately $11 Billion Dollars.
“This is a great Deal for America and, also, a great Deal for INTEL.
“Building leading edge Semiconductors and Chips, which is what INTEL does, is fundamental to the future of our Nation.
“MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
“Thank you for your attention to this matter.”
The overall lack of Republican pushback demonstrates how Trump has nudged the GOP from its “free market” moorings, which have been crucial to the party’s identity since the Reagan era.
From the president’s early days as a politician, and even before then, Trump has advocated economic measures that most free-market conservatives reject, such as tariffs, which Trump views as a tool to boost domestic manufacturing, enrich the public treasury, and help “forgotten Americans” who were left behind by globalization.
Trump’s approach has been called many things – populism, protectionism, mercantilism – but his basic economic instinct is that the system should serve America and its interests.
This is anathema to many free-market conservatives, who see markets as ends unto themselves and government interventions as inherently misguided and doomed to failure.
Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC), who is retiring after clashing with Trump, invoked China while criticizing the president’s Intel deal.
“I don’t care if it’s a dollar or a billion-dollar stake,” Tillis said.
“That starts feeling like a semi-state-owned enterprise, à la CCCP.
“I don’t believe that the U.S. government should be picking winners and losers because you won’t always be right.”
A White House spokesperson said to Newsweek that the administration is “ensuring that taxpayers are able to reap the upside of the federal government’s investments into safeguarding our national and economic security.”
To some extent, Trump’s deviations from economic orthodoxy have been overstated.
His “Big, Beautiful Bill” codifies traditional Republican priorities like corporate and individual tax cuts, and he has pushed to deregulate AI.
But Republicans who disapprove of Trump’s market interventions should buckle up, because he has more coming.
“I will make deals like that for our Country all day long,” the president posted on Truth Social.
“I want to try and get as much as I can.”
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