Trump Proposes Government Stakes in AI Companies, Drawing Mixed Reactions Including From Adviser Sacks

President Trump said Friday that he "should be a stockbroker," citing his administration's recent deal to take a stake in Intel. He told reporters he wants Americans to be partners "in this revolution" and said he has a meeting scheduled in the "very near future" — as soon as this week — with technology companies to discuss what a government partnership could look like.

U.S. Government now owns shares of chipmakers, miners and quantum computing companies. It often receives equity in exchange for federal funds that were originally provided without ownership conditions attached. Trump said of Sen.

Sanders has proposed legislation that would require top AI companies to pay a one-time 50% tax in stock. The shares would go into a sovereign wealth fund that distributes gains to the public. OpenAI and Anthropic have both floated versions of public wealth funds.

A 2% stake in a $3 trillion company would be worth $60 billion. David Sacks departed as AI czar after his time as a special government employee ended. He remains a White House adviser. Sriram Krishnan's pending departure as deputy AI czar was also reported.

Krishnan plans to launch a large AI consulting group and is expected to remain in Trump's orbit. Neither departure was tied to policy disagreements. Sacks has publicly cautioned against the government taking stakes in large AI companies, citing his libertarian views and concerns about how the policy might be used if Democrats held power.