Voters wary of government ownership in companies as Trump administration takes equity stakes

Americans wary of Trump's government ownership of companies: CNBC poll. The CNBC All-America Economic Survey found 49% of U.S. voters said they believe it isn't appropriate for the federal government to take ownership stakes in U.S.-based companies, far outweighing the 19% who said it is. The U.S. government has negotiated stakes in dozens of companies, including a 10% share in chipmaker Intel now worth tens of billions of dollars. The Trump administration has defended the practice, but Senate Republicans have urged caution. About half of Americans believe it isn't appropriate for the U.S. government to take ownership in U.S.-based companies, CNBC's new All-America Economic Survey found. The finding comes as the Trump administration has negotiated 30 deals worth nearly $27 billion in total, according to the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonpartisan think tank. More may be coming. The administration has held talks with influential artificial intelligence start-up OpenAI about a potential government stake when it goes public, CNBC has reported. The All-America poll results show only 19% of voters say it is appropriate for the federal government to own a portion of U.S-.based companies, while 49% say it isn't. Almost a third of voters, or 32%, were undecided, however, suggesting there is room for persuasion as the administration moves ahead with its plans. Some U.S. ownership stakes have been opportunistic, while others have been a part of a broader economic strategy. The largest came in August when the U.S. government took 10% ownership of chipmaker Intel. The U.S. government had agreed to provide $8.9 billion in grants to Intel under legislation passed under the Biden administration. The Trump administration decided it wanted equity in exchange, saying that would allow the taxpayer to share in any potential upside. The initial $8.9 billion U.S. stake in Intel has grown 372% since then and was worth $42 billion as of Thursday's close. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick discussed the Intel stake with Senate Republicans at a policy lunch last week. "We have to be careful about that," Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., said following the meeting. "I understand that he sees value in there for the taxpayer and all that. I'd want to be cautious in this area." Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, also said he was concerned about the trend of the U.S. government taking equity stakes. "I understand that sometimes it makes sense from a national security standpoint and from a taxpayer standpoint," Husted said. But, he added it "shouldn't be permanent." Husted is sponsoring legislation to allow the U.S. government to invest in companies for national-security reasons but only for up to eight years. Other government stakes have come through a coordinated effort by the federal government to make sure the U.S. has secure access to resources and technologies it needs for national defense.