Trump administration says the US government doesn’t want to own stakes in Nvidia

President Donald Trump’s Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, said on live television that the U.S. government has no plans to buy any part of Nvidia.

This came after the administration secured an $11 billion equity deal with Intel, raising questions about whether similar stakes would be taken in other chipmakers. Speaking Wednesday on Fox Business, Bessent told Maria Bartiromo that Nvidia “doesn’t need financial support,” shutting down speculation immediately.

He explained that the Intel deal was about taxpayers getting a return, not handouts. “President Trump is going to be the only president in modern times who creates assets for the American people rather than debt,” Bessent said.

“We looked, he saw that Intel had been given grants, and wanted to know why the American taxpayer wouldn’t participate in the upside. So there’s $11 billion of immediate value. And I think there’s a very good chance here that it could be much more.”

Bessent says future equity deals may target other U.S. industries

Pressed by Bartiromo on whether Trump would back a stake in Nvidia, Bessent made the administration’s position clear: “I don’t think Nvidia needs financial support. So, you know, that that seems not on the table right now.” But he didn’t rule out other industries.

“Could there be other industries where we’re reshaping—something like shipbuilding? Sure. There could be things like that. And these are critical industries that we have to be self-sufficient in the United States.”

Bessent didn’t try to sell it as just another industrial strategy. He tied it directly to national survival, saying the COVID-19 pandemic showed how fragile the U.S. was. He called the pandemic a “beta” test for a kinetic war, pointing to America’s deep reliance on foreign manufacturing.

“Think about it, 80-90% of the precursor pharma products are made overseas. And that’s just unacceptable,” Bessent said. “As we saw during COVID, the manufacturing countries will keep it for themselves.”

The Intel move has already stirred up Republican backlash, with lawmakers split. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., didn’t hold back: “The U.S. federal government should not be buying companies,” he told Fox News Digital.

Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., one of the CHIPS Act’s lead sponsors, also criticized the strategy. “It was not the intent of the law, you know, an equity stake to be taken,” Young said. “But it was the intent to ensure that we enhance our economic security and national security, which is the objective that they are trying, that the administration is trying to advance.”