President Trump’s announcement that the federal government would take a 10 percent stake in Intel, once the nation’s most successful chip manufacturer, has raised alarm bells with conservative Republicans, who see it as part of a bigger trend under Trump of the federal government asserting itself in corporate decisionmaking.

Trump announced his agreement with Intel after he reached a separate deal earlier this month with two other U.S.-based chipmakers, Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), that will see them pay the U.S. government 15 percent of their revenue from AI-chip sales to China.

Trump rankled members of his party in June when his administration agreed to Japan’s Nippon Steel acquisition of U.S. Steel in exchange for the U.S. government getting a “golden share” giving it broad authority over U.S. Steel’s governance.

Conservative Republican critics of the Intel deal warn it’s another step toward “socialism” that undermines the free market and sets a precedent that Democrats could exploit when they return to power.

Some prominent Republican lawmakers and former officeholders are questioning Trump’s rationale and whether Intel is likely to benefit or suffer from partial federal ownership, invoking comparisons to state-owned enterprises in China, Russia and other government-run economies.

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said he feels “uncomfortable” about Trump’s use of federal power to influence decisionmaking not just at Intel but at other major companies that have sought to ingratiate themselves with the White House, such as Apple, which this month announced it would increase its commitment to the United States to $600 billion.

“I don’t care if it’s a dollar or a billion-dollar stake,” Tillis told journalist Major Garrett. “That starts feeling like a semi state-owned enterprise à la CCCP,” referring to the acronym for the USSR.

“I don’t believe the U.S. government should be picking winners and losers,” he........

© The Hill