Lutnick’s Use of Government Influence to Sway Private Businesses

Lutnick’s Expanding Reach: Government Power Meets Corporate Pressure

A New Economic Strategy

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has been steering the U.S. government into territory unseen in decades, using federal authority to pressure corporations and trade partners. His latest maneuver involved Intel, where the administration negotiated a deal making the government the company’s largest shareholder. The agreement followed President Trump’s public call for Intel’s CEO Lip-Bu Tan to resign over his business ties to China.

“America should own shares, because it’s only fair,” Lutnick told Tan, in comments shared on social media. The Intel board quickly approved.

Trump’s Unorthodox Market Interventions

This move is part of a broader pattern. The Trump administration has pursued equity stakes in companies like U.S. Steel and MP Materials, while floating the idea of investing in defense and shipbuilding industries. The president has even suggested taking a share of profits from A.I. chip exports to China and extracted massive investment pledges from Japan and South Korea under threat of tariffs.

Such steps have unsettled both executives and policymakers. Supporters see bold deal-making; critics view the measures as distortions of the free market and, in some cases, outright intimidation.

Lutnick’s Role as Architect

Lutnick, once a Wall Street bond broker, has become one of Trump’s most trusted enforcers. He has shaped trade negotiations, halted grants, and leveraged export licenses as bargaining chips. Central to his efforts is the Investment Accelerator, an initiative inside the Commerce Department designed to pool foreign capital and negotiate equity stakes in key industries.

The accelerator now controls tens of billions of dollars, much of it from CHIPS Act funds originally intended as grants. Under Lutnick, companies like Intel have faced payment delays unless they agreed to additional U.S. investments.

Corporate Pushback and Concerns

Executives describe Lutnick’s tactics as coercive, likening them to “mafia-style” pressure. Intel, already struggling to deliver on earlier promises, found itself cornered into a deal that critics argue benefits the government more than it secures the U.S. chip supply.

Some officials in the Biden administration who helped design the CHIPS Act have questioned the wisdom of these arrangements, noting that upfront payouts and equity stakes may weaken incentives for companies to expand production domestically.

Rising Political Debate

Not all responses have been negative. Progressives such as Senator Bernie Sanders have praised the moves as overdue government involvement in strategic industries. Others, like Senator Rand Paul, warn the policies are creeping toward “socialism.”

Meanwhile, economists and former officials raise alarms about mismanagement, favoritism, and blurred lines between national security and profit motives — especially with proposals like skimming revenue from A.I. chip sales to China.

A Shift Away From Market Orthodoxy

For decades, American policy emphasized keeping government out of direct corporate ownership. But both parties have gradually softened toward industrial policy amid challenges from China and other rivals. Trump and Lutnick, however, are not following ideology so much as instinct — seizing opportunities to secure leverage, revenue, and investment.

Whether these strategies will stabilize U.S. manufacturing or undermine market trust remains uncertain. What is clear is that Lutnick has moved the Commerce Department into unprecedented territory, blending political power, financial engineering, and deal-making on a global scale.