The government’s acquisition of private companies was long considered a taboo in American politics, but that’s changed under President Donald Trump in the wake of a deal that converted $11 billion in Biden-era Chips Act grants into the US owning a 10% stake in Intel.
But similar federal investments could expand soon.
“Oh, there’s a monstrous discussion about defense. I mean Lockheed Martin makes 97% of their revenue from the U.S. Government," U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said this week on CNBC. "They are basically an arm of the U.S. Government.”
Virginia is the second largest recipient of federal defense spending, over $68 billion dollars in 2023. And Lockheed Martin has about 2,800 employees and pays nearly $600 million in annual salaries across the Commonwealth.
In a statement Lockheed said they will “continue a strong working relationship” with Trump as they did in his first term.
And if that means taking over part of the company? Governor Glenn Youngkin says it’s not a bad idea.
“The federal government, in so many times, is providing extraordinary support for a company and in return there should be a return on that investment, and I think American taxpayers deserve that,” the Virginia governor told reporters Wednesday.
Federal takeovers aren’t unheard of; in 2009 President Barack Obama invested billions in the U.S. mortgage industry to avoid a wave of foreclosures and the nation is still receiving dividends from those investments.
But it may be the first time Youngkin has agreed with Senator Bernie Sanders. In a statement sent to Reuters shortly after Trump’s Intel deal, the Vermont Independent said quote "If microchip companies make a profit from the [federal] generous grants, [American] taxpayers… have a right to a reasonable return on that investment."
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
