The Trump Administration’s Big Intel Investment Comes From Already Awarded Grants

Intel officially announced an agreement pinch President Donald Trump’s management connected Friday afternoon, pursuing Trump’s connection that the authorities would beryllium taking a 10% stake successful nan struggling chipmaker.

While Intel says nan authorities is making an “$8.9 cardinal finance successful Intel communal stock,” nan management does not look to beryllium committing caller funds. Instead, it’s simply making bully connected what Intel described arsenic “grants antecedently awarded, but not yet paid, to Intel.”

Specifically, nan $8.9 cardinal is expected to travel from $5.7 cardinal awarded-but-not-paid to Intel nether nan Biden administration’s CHIPS Act, arsenic good arsenic $3.2 cardinal besides awarded by nan Biden administration done nan Secure Enclave program.

In a station connected his societal web Truth Social, Trump wrote, “The United States paid thing for these shares.” Nonetheless, he described this arsenic “a awesome Deal for America and, also, a awesome Deal for INTEL.”

Trump has been captious of nan CHIPS Act, calling it a “horrible, horrible thing” and calling connected House Speaker Mike Johnson to “get rid” of it. In a regulatory filing successful June, Intel said that while it had already received $2.2 cardinal successful CHIPS Act funding, it had subsequently requested an further $850 cardinal successful reimbursement that nan authorities had not yet paid.

According to The New York Times, immoderate bankers and lawyers judge nan CHIPS Act whitethorn not let nan authorities to person its grants to equity, opening this woody to imaginable ineligible challenges.

In summation to his targeting of nan CHIPS Act, earlier this period Trump besides accused Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan of conflicts of interests and said he should “resign immediately.” The president was much affirmative astir Tan connected Friday, saying connected Truth Social that he “negotiated this woody pinch Lip-Bu Tan, nan Highly Respected Chief Executive Officer of nan Company.”

For his part, Tan said successful a connection that nan institution is “grateful for nan assurance nan President and nan Administration person placed successful Intel, and we look guardant to moving to beforehand U.S. exertion and manufacturing leadership.”

Intel’s announcement besides says nan government’s finance will beryllium “passive,” pinch nary committee seats aliases different governance and accusation rights.