Trump Taking Stake In Corporations Opens Door For Dems To Exploit When They Regain Power

President Donald Trump’s growing push to take government stakes in private companies could hand Democrats a powerful precedent to expand federal involvement in corporate America when they return to power.

The Trump administration has announced 39 stakes or other ownership rights in private companies totaling roughly $27.7 billion since January 2025, spanning the mining, technology, energy and defense industries, according to Politico. The left is already considering how a future Democratic administration could build on Trump’s approach to advance climate, energy and labor priorities, while free-market advocates warned the president has made it more difficult for Republicans to oppose such interventions in the future.

The administration’s approach marked a significant departure from previous federal interventions in private companies, which largely occurred during wars or financial emergencies. The federal government took large stakes in banks and automakers during the 2008 financial crisis, but Trump’s investments have instead been aimed at longer-term efforts to secure critical mineral supply chains and expand domestic semiconductor and technology production.

Scott Lincicome, vice president of general economics at the Cato Institute, told the Daily Caller News Foundation that Trump’s acquisition of a 10% stake in Intel represented a significant escalation from earlier government investments.

Lincicome said previous government stakes generally involved national security needs or emergencies, received legislative backing and included plans for the government to eventually divest. The Intel deal, by contrast, involved a company that was not facing bankruptcy, lacked an explicit exit strategy and relied on the CHIPS Act, which Lincicome said did not expressly authorize the government to take an equity stake.

“Because the Trump administration has opened these floodgates, it’s going to be difficult, if not impossible, for Republicans to fight this when Trump is gone,” Lincicome told the DCNF. “Because it was their party that started it all.”

Former President Joe Biden signed the CHIPS and Science Act into law in 2022 to boost domestic semiconductor manufacturing and reduce U.S. reliance on foreign chip production. The law included roughly $52 billion in subsidies for semiconductor manufacturers, along with additional funding for scientific and technology research.

The White House rejected concerns that Democrats would build on Trump’s approach, arguing the administration’s investments were voluntary partnerships intended to strengthen American industry.

“The Trump administration has taken voluntary equity investments in willing companies,” White House spokesman Kush Desai told the DCNF. “After spending decades hollowing America out with broken trade deals and DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion] red tape, it’s unlikely Democrats will want to build on the President’s legacy of partnering with the private sector to reindustrialize the United States.”