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.

Shining a Spotlight on Intel Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) has emerged from the shadows of its semiconductor rivals, capturing the attention of investors and policymakers alike. After years of struggling to keep pace with competitors like Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM),

Key Takeaways Intel on Monday said Japanese investment giant SoftBank had agreed to buy $2 billion of the chipmaker's stock, boosting hope on Wall Street that the Trump administration and allies will throw the beleaguered chipmaker a lifeline.

Intel looks to be set to get the U.S. government as a shareholder. The Trump administration could pursue equity stakes in other companies including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

Despite the rocky relationship between President Donald Trump and CEO Lip-Bu Tan, the government is reportedly eyeing a stake in Intel.

In a just-breaking development, Bloomberg reports the Trump administration may take a 10% stake in Intel ( INTC -3.71%) -- which perversely is down 3.9% on the news, at least as of 12:35 p.m. ET. Probably not the reaction that either the Trump administration or Intel itself anticipated.

President Trump had urged CEO Lip-Bu Tan to step down over his past ties with China. But the narrative flipped last week after a highly positive White House meeting

Intel Corp (NASDAQ:INTC) shares are trading higher Tuesday after it was announced that Softbank will invest $2 billion in the company.

But Intel wasn't alone in winning CHIPS Act grants. As CNBC points out, Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC) was awarded $6.6 billion in U.S. government semiconductor subsidies. And now it seems U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick may want to convert that grant into an equity stake as well.