1. United States
2. Ohio
3. Letter

The United States government is making an $8.9 billion investment in Intel, representing a 9.9 percent stake in the company, according to a press release the company published on Friday. The investment will be funded by $5.7 billion in grants Intel was awarded under the 2022 CHIPS Act and $3.2 billion the company was awarded as part of the Secure Enclave program, the press release says. The news comes shortly after President Trump touted the deal in a White House press conference with reporters. “I said, ‘I think you should pay us 10 percent of your company.’ And they said yes—that’s about $10 billion,” Trump said. “And I think it’s a great deal for them.” Trump added that Intel’s CEO, Lip-Bu Tan, “walked in wanting to keep his job” and “ended up giving us $10 billion for the United States.” He was seemingly referring to a situation earlier this month where he called for Tan’s resignation due to the CEO’s reported financial ties to China. Trump later softened his stance after meeting with Tan in Washington. Both Trump and US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick have said the deal is meant to revitalize the struggling chip giant and bring more chipmaking back to the United States. The move is part of a broader strategy to lessen the country’s reliance on China. Brian Quinn, a professor at Boston College Law School, says it’s confounding that the government has negotiated for common stock in Intel, as opposed to preferred stock. “It strikes me as a colossal waste of time,” he said. “The government said that it wanted to ensure that taxpayers get something back from this, but it’s unclear how this investment will do that. If it was preferred shares, it could have included mandatory dividends and ensured that the government gets paid back.” Like all the trade deals he touts as if he personally negotiates them, Trump keeps making bad deal after bad deal for Americans.