With Republicans in control of the White House and Congress, President Donald Trump has incorporated the federal government into private business affairs in unprecedented ways. The situation could change if President Trump’s opponents, the Democrats, take control of the House and Senate after the blue wave midterm elections.
Democrats plan to root out corruption allegations involving President Trump, his family and his business associates, and have signaled they will scrutinize companies favored by the president.
Their investigation may extend to: intel and dozens of other companies that acquired government stakes during President Trump’s second term. In July, Democratic lawmakers asked law firm Skadden Arps for details about its involvement in the Intel acquisition.
This dynamic could influence how President Trump approaches relations with private companies after spending two years trying to involve the government in private company matters through stock agreements or, in the case of U.S. Steel, receiving “golden shares” when the company was acquired. Nippon Steel.
The golden shares, which allow holders to vote more than other shareholders, were negotiated as part of the June 2025 deal. The highly unusual deal gives President Trump veto power over several key areas of the steelmaker’s business, including those related to employee pay, capital spending and even the company’s name.
In a unique development, the company’s amended charter specifies that after President Trump leaves office, the veto power will be transferred to the U.S. government’s representatives, the Treasury and Commerce Department, rather than his successor.
U.S. Steel CEO David Britt will speak with CNBC’s Megan Casella on Wednesday at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s B20 Summit about the future of U.S. industry.
US Steel’s intervention turned out to be just the beginning of the US government taking stakes in companies, a highly unusual move in the US. A month after acquiring the golden shares, the Trump administration agreed to a $400 million stock deal with the rare earths company. MP material. The following month, President Trump announced that the United States would acquire a 10% stake in the semiconductor maker. intel.
By January, one year into President Trump’s second term, his administration had established some form of stock position in 14 companies, according to tracking by the CATO Institute. By November, that number had jumped to 41, including nine similar announcements in May alone, according to the tracker. Its holdings include both public and private companies, and CATO tracks not only completed deals, but also deals that have been made public but are still being negotiated.
The federal government has not disclosed any new stock positions following the Republican Party’s decisive defeat in the Nov. 3 midterm elections. But Trump, now in a lame duck state and on the brink of losing political power over Congress, may continue to push the government to enter into more stock deals with companies, said Sarah Bauerle Dansman, an associate professor at Indiana University who studies the intersection of national security and investment policy.
“He may feel he has less to lose,” Bauerle Danzmann, also a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, told CNBC.
“Through voluntary equity investments in willing companies, the Trump Administration has worked with the private sector to rebuild America’s industrial base and bring critical production home,” White House Press Secretary Matthew Middleton told CNBC in a statement.
“Going forward, the president stands ready to work with anyone to advance solutions that strengthen our economy and put more money back in the pockets of American workers,” Middleton said.
But President Trump’s efforts, which have so far been unimpeded, could face sudden resistance if Democrats take control of the House and Senate in January.
Democratic lawmakers have vowed to crack down on allegations of rampant government corruption and are openly preparing for a victory against Trump and his associates.
These investigations are expected to focus on the following tech giants: apple, meta platform And at Elon Musk’s companies, executives have spent millions of dollars to curry favor with the administration. Democrats are also poised to delve into potential conflicts related to a series of important mineral deals signed by President Trump. Lawmakers from both parties are also considering it. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, an ally of President Trump, was embroiled in a scandal after admitting to having an affair with a suspected Chinese spy.
Bauerle-Duntzmann said the administration’s stock intervention could be a target of that mission, predicting that Democrats could seek to step up oversight efforts even if they don’t seek to cancel existing stock agreements.
In the next parliament, she said, the government could seek to ensure that interests “promote genuine national security priorities” and do not give “special accommodations to political and family connections”.
“The talk there is to link these issues to issues of accountability and anti-corruption, rather than necessarily costs,” Bauerle-Duntzmann said.
It’s also unclear how strongly Republicans will defend President Trump’s golden stocks and government stocks if they become targeted by Democrats.
Conservatives traditionally support free markets and criticize excessive government interference in the private sector. Republicans, including Mr. Trump, spent much of the midterm campaign warning that Democrats aimed to destroy America’s capitalist system and impose a big-government socialism that would destroy the economy.
While some Republicans have criticized the Trump administration’s interference with businesses, the move has received little pushback from the president’s party as a whole.
But after a crushing election loss, some Republicans “might be emboldened to actually work with Democrats” in an effort to strangle President Trump, Bauerle Danzmann said.
