Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.), a libertarian-minded Republican, criticized the Trump administration’s push to acquire a stake in U.S. chipmaker Intel, suggesting the move would be a “step toward socialism.” “If socialism is government owning the means of production,

The U.S. government aims to take an equity stake in Intel, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Tuesday morning.“We should get an equity stake for our money, so we’ll deliver the money which was already committed under the Biden administration,

The US government is in discussions to potentially take a partial ownership stake in Intel, according to an Aug. 18 report by Bloomberg. The deal could help accelerate the construction of Intel’s long-delayed semiconductor manufacturing plant in Ohio.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CNBC the U.S. government wants a stake in Intel in exchange for CHIPS Act grant money promised under Biden.

Intel is in talks with other large investors to receive an equity infusion at a discounted price, CNBC reported on Wednesday, just days after the struggling chipmaker got a $2 billion capital injection from SoftBank Group.