Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), a libertarian-minded Republican, criticized the Trump administration’s push to acquire a stake in U.S. chipmaker Intel, suggesting the move would be a “step toward socialism.”

“If socialism is government owning the means of production, wouldn’t the government owning part of Intel be a step toward socialism?” Paul said on Wednesday in a post on the social platform X.

“Terrible idea,” he added, linking to a news story about the latest effort.

The Trump administration is in talks to secure a 10 percent stake in the company, which would make the U.S. government one of Intel’s largest shareholders.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Tuesday that the money for the stake would come from previously allocated Biden-era funding. Media reports have suggested that the s

See Full Page