Several politicians on both sides of the aisle are objecting to President Donald Trump‘s deal with U.S. semiconductor manufacturing company Intel. (In exchange for investing $8.9 billion in Intel, the federal government will receive 10 percent stake in the company.)
U.S. Congressman Thomas Massie (R-KY) responded to Trump’s proposed 10 percent stake in Intel: “Our government should not have ownership in private companies. There are so many specific problems with an arrangement like this, but fundamentally, this is not who we are as a country.”
And U.S. Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) responded: “I don’t care if it’s a dollar or a billion dollar stake in an American company, that starts feeling like a semi-state owned enterprise, à la CCCP.”
Today on CNBC’s Squawk Box, Trump’s Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was asked where the government will “draw the line” on such deals, as many American corporations which benefit from working with the federal government — including defense and aerospace company Lockheed Martin — seem like targets.
Lutnick laughed and said: “Oh, there’s a monstrous discussion about defense. I mean, Lockheed Martin makes 97 percent of their revenue from the U.S. government. They are basically an arm of the U.S. government.”
Lutnick added: “They make exquisite munitions, I mean amazing things that can knock a missile out of the air when it’s coming towards you. But what’s the economics of that?”
Lutnick laughed, saying: “I’m gonna leave that to my Secretary of Defense and the deputy Secretary of Defense, these guys are on it and are thinking about it. But I tell you what, there’s a lot of talking that needs to be had about how do we finance our munitions, acquisitions.”
Note: In July, the Senate approved Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth‘s DoD 2026 budget of approximately $851.9 billion in discretionary funding. Approximately $302.8 billion was earmarked for the sustainment of operations, weapons, training, and readiness activities.
Those who oppose to the federal government taking stakes in American corporations are responding to the idea of Hegseth taking a cut of Lockheed Martin with questions including, “How long until the Trump administration tries to partially nationalize Starlink or SpaceX?”
Lockheed Martin is an American aerospace and defense industry leader with more than 350 facilities and 121,000 employees worldwide. Reporting more than $70 billion in 2024 sales, the company, which (like Intel) is publicly traded, says it has “13,000+ active suppliers, including suppliers in every U.S. state and more than 909 suppliers in over 52 countries outside the U.S.”
Pete Hegseth “Thinking About” Taking Stake in Lockheed Martin, Says Commerce Secretary