Lutnick just laughed it off, indignantly pointing out that “we were just giving away the money” under the previous terms of the CHIPS Act. But the legality of any equity stake would likely be challenged by both Intel shareholders and competitors in the industry, according to the Times.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the Trump administration plans to convert federal funding pledged to Intel Corp. INTC under the CHIPS Act into an equity stake, arguing that taxpayers deserve a return instead of providing “giveaways to rich companies.