U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Rutnik. Yonhap News. 

The Donald Trump administration, which recently secured a 10% stake in semiconductor company Intel, is reportedly considering a similar approach to acquiring stakes in U.S. defense contractors.

In an interview with CNBC on the 26th (local time), U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Rutnik stated, "There is a tremendous amount of discussion around (the issue of acquiring stakes in) the defense industry."

This statement came in response to a question from the interviewer: "Is there a reason why the U.S. government can't say, 'We are using Palantir's services, so we want a stake. We are using Boeing's services, so we want a stake'? Where is the line?"

Secretary Rutnik further added, "Lockheed Martin generates 97% of its revenue from the U.S. government. They are essentially a division of the U.S. government."

He continued, "But what about the economics? I'll leave that (decision) to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense. They are on the job and reviewing it."

Under the CHIPS Act, the Trump administration recently criticized subsidies as "giving free money to big corporations" and secured a 10% stake in Intel equivalent to the subsidy amount.

Secretary Rutnik's remarks on this day are interpreted to mean that the government could acquire stakes in defense companies whose revenue predominantly comes from government contracts, similar to the CHIPS Act subsidies, and that discussions are currently underway at the Department of Defense level.

However, attention is being drawn to the fact that even within the ruling Republican Party, voices of opposition are emerging against the Trump administration's attempts to acquire stakes in private companies.

In a statement sent to the political news outlet Politico, Republican Senator Rand Paul (Kentucky) pointed out, "Today it's Intel, tomorrow it could be any industry that the future Secretary of Commerce decides to control. If conservatives support this, they are handing future Democrats a blueprint for expanding government ownership of the private sector."

Yonhap News