Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss the U.S. government's stake in Intel, whether the administration is open to more deals, President Trump's trade agenda, Trump's move to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook, and more.

Washington

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick discussed the administration's approach to government support for private companies, particularly in the semiconductor and defense sectors. Lutnick criticized previous policies that provided large grants to companies like Intel and TSMC without securing equity or other returns for taxpayers, describing them as 'corporate giveaways.'

He indicated that the current administration is considering whether the U.S. government should receive equity stakes in companies that benefit significantly from federal support, such as defense contractors and technology firms. Lutnick noted that discussions are ongoing within the Pentagon about how best to structure these relationships to ensure that public investments yield tangible benefits for the American people.

Pentagon 'thinking' about taking stakes in defense contractors

Our next guest is going to weigh in on the administration's Intel stake, future deals, the U.S.-China chip war, and so much more. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick joins us this morning. Mr. Secretary, it's great to see you. We want to talk about Intel. I also want to ask your thoughts, by the way, on the Lisa Cook situation. But let's start with Intel, because I think there's a lot of questions in the business community this morning about what the administration's intention is as it relates to buying stakes in other businesses. We just had John Stanky, the CEO of AT&T, on, for example. He's doing a deal with EchoStar around broadband licenses. By the way, those licenses are U.S. licenses. The government, you could argue, subsidizes those things. And of course, the question that we raised was, you know, what do you think about the possibility that the government's going to come and say, hey, we would like a piece of your company or to buy one through our sovereign wealth fund or what have you? Well, I think the Intel deal was a great example. The Biden administration gave, G-A-V-E, gave Intel, an American company, $11 billion grant in exchange for nothing to help them build semiconductors in America, which would be a really good thing. But why would you have, I mean, talk about corporate welfare. So Donald Trump sits in the room with me and Lipu, the CEO of Intel, and says, come on, we've got to make it fair for America. And we agree. We get 10 percent of the company, which brilliantly equals $11 billion. Now, Mr. Secretary, I don't want to relitigate the history, but just for context, and I hope you'll agree with what I'm about to say. At the time that the CHIPS Act was put together, and we could critique and criticize the CHIPS Act all you want, the idea was that we were trying to incentivize companies to do something in the U.S. that they thought was relatively uneconomic, meaning they didn't want to do this. And so the idea was, how do you incent them effectively to do that? Most of these companies wouldn't have taken the money, necessarily, if equity was required on the other end. The world has changed. Obviously, the tariff policy and everything else that's been put in place, and obviously, the U.S., as well as, frankly, own challenges and troubles, put them in a more diminished spot. But in terms of just contextualizing what's happened here, is that a fair way to think about it? Or do you think that the original CHIPS Act was just completely mishandled? I think the latter. The CHIPS Act was mishandled. I mean, you've got TSMC, the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation. It's worth a trillion dollars. It's a trillion-dollar company with an almost monopoly on making wafers that you break into chips that we all know. And they agreed to build $65 billion plants in America. And the Biden administration gave them $6.5 billion, or 10 percent. As soon as I took this office, I called C.C. Wei. He's the CEO. We sat down and negotiated, and I said, look, this is ridiculous. I'm going to take back the $6.5 billion. This is just a corporate giveaway. You've got to do better for us. And if you remember, he came to the White House and announced $165 billion of investment. That's what I'm talking about. At least let's make sure America gets the benefit of the bargain. Why do you think that all these companies didn't do this prior? Well, the Biden administration didn't even know how to ask, right? You've got tariffs. And you've got a real businessman, both as the secretary of commerce and as the president of the United States, pushing these people. Mike Gran was getting a $2.5 billion grant to build $25 billion. They now upped it to $200 billion. Texas Instruments, from $23 billion to $60 billion. I mean, let's get the benefit of the bargain. You've got to push these people. You can't be a pushover. The Biden administration was just a pushover. That's all it was. It was a giveaway of money. And the Trump administration is just not that. Howard, it's Wilfred here. Great to speak. Long time no speak. My question on this, following on from what Andrew said, is what is the bar for the government to deserve a stake in a company for free? Because lots of companies are potentially now beneficiaries, domestic U.S. companies, of your tariffs. Is that enough to warrant a 1 percent, a 2 percent, a 3 percent stake for free? No, no. And free is a funny way to say it. I mean, it's correct in that the Biden administration had contracted $11 billion out the door. And Donald Trump and the Trump administration turned that into $11 billion of equity. But the money was already out the door. So I think the key is, where is the United States of America adding fundamental value to your business? If we are adding fundamental value to your business, I think it's fair for Donald Trump to think about the American people. I mean, one of those issues was, we give hundreds of billions of dollars to universities, hundreds of billions of dollars to universities, and they keep the patents. Don't you think America should get a stake in the patents that we financed the research? We give the money. I mean, if it was commercial, we surely would get a piece of these patents. Why don't you think it's fair for America? What about defense companies, though, Secretary? Why shouldn't the U.S. government say, you know what, we use Palantir services. We would like a piece of Palantir. We use Boeing services. We would like a piece of Boeing. There are a lot of businesses that do business with the U.S. government that benefit by doing business with the U.S. government. I guess the question is, where's the line? Oh, there's a monstrous discussion about defense. I mean, Lockheed Martin makes 97 percent of their revenue from the U.S. government. They are basically an arm of the U.S. government. They make exquisite munitions. I mean, amazing things that can knock a missile out of the air when it's coming towards you. But what's the economics of that? I'm going to leave that to my secretary of defense and the deputy secretary of defense. These guys are on it, and they're thinking about it. But I tell you what, there's a lot of talking that needs to be had about how do we finance our munitions acquisitions. I think a lot of that is talking. And now you have the right people in the jobs and Donald Trump at the head thinking about what is the right way to do it. I tell you, the way it has been done has been a giveaway.

Protesters demanding an end to the Gaza war and the return of hostages to their homes took to the streets in Israel on Tuesday ahead of a security cabinet meeting scheduled for the evening.

Tel Aviv-Yafo

Middle East Conflict

Israeli protesters demand hostage deal as cabinet set to meet

Australia accused Iran on Tuesday (August 26) of executing two antisemitic arson attacks in the cities of Sydney and Melbourne and gave Tehran's ambassador seven days to leave the country, its first such expulsion since World War Two.

Council of the City of Sydney

Australia expels Iranian envoy over antisemitic attacks

President Donald Trump announced the removal of Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, the only Black woman to serve on the board. Critics call it an attack on the Fed's independence, while Cook says no legal cause exists for her firing.

Trump says he fired Lisa Cook from Federal Reserve board

U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order creating new National Guard units, including a rapid-response force to handle what the administration calls civil disturbances.

White House authorizes creation of rapid-response National Guard units

Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup xAI sued Apple and ChatGPT maker OpenAI in U.S. federal court in Texas, accusing them of illegally conspiring to thwart competition for artificial intelligence.

Texas

Rise of AI

Elon Musk's xAI sues Apple, OpenAI over competition claims

Strikes on the Nasser hospital in Gaza that left at least 20 people dead, including rescuers, journalists and health-care workers are being met with global outrage. The Israeli military is investigating what Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netnayahu called a ‘tragic mishap.’

Israeli PM calls deadly strikes on Gaza hospital a ‘tragic mishap’

Kilmar Abrego Garcia is back in ICE custody and is facing deportation to Uganda, the Department of Homeland Security says, after he was released from criminal custody last week.

Baltimore

Abrego Garcia in ICE custody, court blocks immediate deportation

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he will meet with the U.S. and other countries this week to discuss a potential meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin aimed at reaching a ceasefire.

Kyiv

Ukraine Invasion

Zelenskiy say he will meet with U.S., others on potential Putin talks

U.S. President Donald Trump says Chicago could be the next city to see National Guard deployment, sparking strong opposition from Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker, who argue crime is already falling and federal intervention is unnecessary.

Chicago

Trump threatens to send National Guard troops to Chicago

Four journalists working with Reuters, Al Jazeera and others were killed in explosions at a Gaza hospital. Gaza officials blame Israeli drone strikes, though CBS News has not independently verified the claims.

Jerusalem

Four journalists reported dead after Gaza hospital blasts

U.S. National Guard troops patrolling the streets of Washington D.C. as part of what President Donald Trump said was his crackdown on crime began carrying weapons on Sunday night, two officials said.

National Guard patrolling Washington DC begin carrying weapons

In a visit to Kyiv, Prime Minister Mark Carney affirmed Canada’s support for Ukraine and committed to sending soldiers if a ceasefire with Russia is reached.

Carney in Kyiv pledges support, possibly troops for Ukraine

The Pickett Fire is growing in California's Napa County, prompting new evacuations as it threatens homes and wineries. The flames, fueled by scorching temperatures and dry conditions, are being battled by hundreds of first responders.

Napa Valley

Evacuations ordered in California as heatwave fuels wildfire

Democrats are pushing back against President Trump's plan to send the National Guard to more cities, including Chicago, New York and Baltimore, as troops continue to patrol Washington, D.C. State and local leaders say they have crime under control.

Democrats slam Trump's plans to send National Guard to more cities

Beef prices are at record highs with the average price of a pound of ground beef topping $6. Lisa Rozner reports on what's causing prices to soar.

Why U.S beef prices are soaring

A defiant Ukraine marked its independence from the former Soviet Union Sunday amid more fighting with Russia. Chris Livesay reports on how world leaders joined in, voicing their support.

Ukraine marks its Independence Day as war with Russia continues

The boats are produced by unknown Turkish companies and are then sent disassembled in multiple shipments to avoid suspicion in what authorities say is for the sole purpose of trafficking migrants across the English Channel.

Sofia

Inflatable boats used for migrant trafficking seized

Less than 24 hours after he was released from jail, Kilmar Ábrego García was told that U.S. immigration officials plan to deport him to Uganda. The Salvadoran national, who has been living illegally in the U.S. since about 2011, was wrongly deported to his home country earlier this year.

Maryland

Kilmar Abrego Garcia told he may be sent to Uganda

Erik and Lyle Menendez remain behind bars, their hopes for release dashed by two separate parole boards more than three decades after murdering their parents. Elise Preston reports.

Los Angeles

Erik and Lyle Menendez denied parole

Tourism in Las Vegas is slumping this summer, costing the city billions. That could signal trouble ahead for the U.S. economy. Andres Gutierrez has new details.

Las Vegas

Las Vegas tourism slumps this summer, signaling trouble for U.S. economy

Texas Republicans took a victory lap after an early morning vote Saturday that sought to give their party an edge during the 2026 midterms. Democrats in Texas plan to challenge the legality of the new congressional map, saying it dilutes the power of minorities.

Austin

Texas Republicans take victory lap after redistricting vote

Israel has called the United Nations' declaration of famine in parts of Gaza an "outright lie," but multiple U.N. bodies, more than 100 humanitarian groups, and several of Israel's own allies have warned for months that the war is causing starvation among civilians.

Israel denies U.N.'s declaration of famine in parts of Gaza

U.S. President Donald Trump says he will impose sanctions on Russia if it fails to reach a peace deal in Ukraine within two weeks. But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russia’s ongoing attacks on his country show that President Vladimir Putin is not interested in peace.

Putin’s not interested in peace talks, Zelenskyy says

Lyle Menendez was denied parole late Friday night following a day-long hearing in California, just one day after his brother Erik's parole appeal was also rejected. The brothers have been in prison since 1996 for killing their parents in what they say was an act of self-defense.

Both Menendez brothers denied parole

At least five people are dead and dozens are injured after a tour bus traveling from Niagara Falls flipped over on the New York State Thruway near Pembroke, New York.

Pembroke

Western New York bus crash kills at least five people

Federal agents searched former Trump adviser-turned-critic John Bolton's home on Friday morning. President Donald Trump denied knowing about the investigation, which is related to his handling of classified documents.

Bethesda

FBI raids former Trump adviser John Bolton's home, office

The FBI searched former national security adviser John Bolton's house in Bethesda, Maryland, early Friday morning, the bureau confirmed to CBS News.

FBI raids former Trump adviser John Bolton's home, D.C. office

Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland construction worker deported to El Salvador and then returned to the U.S. on smuggling charges, has been released from prison in Tennessee, his attorneys say.

Breakdown