The Trump administration has announced that it may take stakes in chip manufacturers that receive funding under the CHIPS Act. This move has led to concerns about an increase in executive power.
Ryan Young, a senior economist at the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), commented on these developments, warning of potential risks to the balance of power within the government. “The Trump administration is going beyond industrial policy and into outright nationalization.
“The government’s potential 10 percent Intel stake adds on to the Defense Department’s 15 percent stake in mineral producer MP Materials, and President Trump’s golden share in US Steel that lets him veto its management’s decisions.
“Now the next step may be government stakes in other chip producers that received CHIPS Act funding, such as Micron, Samsung, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.
“This is a product of both parties forgetting a cardinal rule of politics: don’t give yourself powers you don’t want your opponents to have. The Democrats who passed the CHIPS Act likely did not foresee Republicans using it to essentially nationalize Intel.
“Similarly, Republicans cheering government takeovers of chipmakers will somehow be surprised if Democrats invoke similar powers in the health insurance, energy, and other industries when they are in power again.
“America’s system of government is built on a simple idea: don’t put too much power in one place. That is why we have a separation of powers. For decades, both parties have put more and more power into the presidency, and we are now reaping the results. Congress and the courts need to check and balance a presidency that is abusing powers it should not have in the first place.”
Recent moves by the administration follow previous examples where federal entities acquired significant shares or decision-making authority over companies considered important for national interests. This includes reported stakes or control mechanisms involving Intel, MP Materials, and US Steel.
These actions come after bipartisan passage of legislation intended to support domestic semiconductor manufacturing but have resulted in broader debate about governmental reach into private industry ownership structures.
