New York (CNN) — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick confirmed on Tuesday that the US government is considering an extraordinary investment in struggling chipmaker Intel . But they gave different answers about what the Trump administration sought to do with that stake.

Such a deal, if it were to happen, would mark an unusual arrangement that would see the Trump administration use taxpayer money to take a stake in a private American business.

In an interview with CNBC Tuesday morning, Bessent suggested a deal like this would be about boosting an American tech company, rather than making money from Intel.

When asked whether taking a stake in Intel would mean convincing US companies to purchase chips from the tech giant, Bessent said any investment in

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