Trump Team Eyes Stakes in Defense Giants Like Lockheed Martin

The Trump administration isn’t just talking about tariffs anymore, it’s talking about taking pieces of America’s biggest defence contractors. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick hinted on Tuesday that the White House is considering investments in companies like Lockheed Martin, Boeing and even Palantir.

The idea? If nearly all of Lockheed’s revenue comes straight from the US government anyway, Lutnick said about 97 percent, then why not treat it like an arm of government and make it official with a stake?

This comes hot on the heels of Trump’s move to grab a 10 percent stake in Intel, the struggling chipmaker, just last week. The White House has also muscled in on other industries: a “golden share” in US Steel during its takeover by Nippon Steel, a slice of MP Materials in rare earths, and a deal forcing Nvidia and AMD to kick back 15 percent of China-related revenue to Washington.

Critics are calling it government overreach, saying these interventions used to only happen in wartime or to rescue collapsing industries. William Hartung of the Quincy Institute bluntly said the Lockheed idea could “incentivise the government to put financial success for Lockheed Martin ahead of more important strategic considerations.” Translation: the lines between regulator and shareholder could get dangerously blurry.

But the administration isn’t exactly apologetic. Lutnick argued that when companies want federal help, they should be ready to deal with Trump on his terms: “If we are adding fundamental value to your business, I think it’s fair for Donald Trump to think about the American people.”

Markets, for now, are rolling with it. Lockheed shares ticked up 1.6 percent, Boeing 2.8 percent, and Palantir recovered from an early dip to close 1.4 percent higher.

And in one of those rare political crossovers, Bernie Sanders backed the Intel stake, saying taxpayers deserve a return if companies are getting billions in government support.